Varda Space
Senior Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics Engineer
$140K–$179K
El Segundo, California, United States · Senior · Full-time · Posted Sep 30, 2026
- Experience
- 6+ years of relevant industry experience with a BS, or 3+ years with a relevant PhD.
- Education
- BS degree in engineering or physics, or a relevant PhD.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. person permitted access to export-controlled items without an export license (U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual). U.S. citizenship is required to obtain and maintain the required security clearance.
About the job
Develop and validate aerodynamics and aeroheating databases for Varda’s reentry vehicles, supporting flight operations, vehicle development, and cross-disciplinary mission decisions.
What you'll do
- Develop and maintain aerodynamic and aeroheating databases across the flight envelope using CFD, DSMC, wind tunnel, and flight data.
- Plan and analyze wind tunnel campaigns, reconcile test results with simulations, and lead post-flight aerodynamic reconstruction and model updates.
- Support stability analysis, 6DOF simulation inputs, flight rules, and collaboration with GNC, TPS, structures, and mission planning.
What they ask for
- BS degree in engineering or physics and 6+ years of relevant industry experience, or a relevant PhD and 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
- Meaningful contribution to aerodynamic development of a hypersonic vehicle that has flown or is on track to fly within the next 5 years.
- Experience analyzing aerodynamic data from test, CFD, flight, and other sources; running CFD and DSMC simulations; and building structured and unstructured meshes in Pointwise.
- Proficiency in MATLAB or Python; ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance, requiring U.S. citizenship.
Nice to have
- Advanced degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering, specializing in aerodynamics or fluid mechanics; hands-on wind tunnel campaign experience.
- Direct ownership of aerodynamic and aeroheating databases for a flying vehicle; familiarity with POST2 or similar 6DOF tools, TPS sizing, or flight reconstruction.
Pay
USD 140,333- $179,314 per year (base salary)
Tools
Fun3D, LAURA, DPLR, US3D, SPARTA, DAC, CBAero, Pointwise
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative