Varda Space
Principal Manufacturing Engineer (Thermal Protection Systems)
$182K–$263K
El Segundo, California, United States · Principal · Full-time · Posted Oct 26, 2026
- Experience
- 6+ years of manufacturing experience; the posting also cites typically 6–10+ years of equivalent professional experience for the education qualification.
- Education
- B.S. in Materials Science, Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related discipline; consideration given to equivalent professional experience.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. person permitted to access the company's export-controlled technology without an export license; defined as a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual admitted as a refugee or granted asylum.
About the job
Own and develop manufacturing processes, documentation, inspection, and quality controls for thermal protection materials and heatshield production used on reentry capsules.
What you'll do
- Own TPS manufacturing processes, including tile and panel preparation, bonding, densification, and closeout.
- Create process documentation and establish procedures for surface preparation, adhesive application, and cure cycles.
- Define inspections and quality gates, lead root-cause and corrective-action work, and assess TPS tooling needs.
What they ask for
- B.S. in a related engineering discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
- 6+ years of manufacturing experience with TPS, composite materials, or advanced material bonding in aerospace or defense.
- Hands-on experience with ablative or reusable TPS materials and adhesive bonding, surface preparation, and cure-cycle control.
- Experience interpreting engineering drawings and assembly models, familiarity with GD&T, and writing manufacturing process documentation.
Nice to have
- Direct TPS manufacturing experience for reentry, hypersonic, or planetary-entry vehicles; familiarity with TPS inspection methods.
- Knowledge of TPS material properties, environmental controls, production scaling, or robotic/semi-automated tile application.
Pay
$181,913 - $262,763 per year (base salary)
Tools
PICA, AVCOAT, SLA-561, GD&T, NDE
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative