Varda Space
Senior Ground Systems Automation & Controls Engineer
$140K–$179K
El Segundo, California, United States · Senior · Full-time · Posted Oct 27, 2026
- Experience
- 5+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field.
- Visa sponsorship
- Only hires U.S. persons permitted to access the company’s technology without an export license; employees must also be lawfully authorized to work in the U.S.
About the job
Builds and owns automated ground support equipment and test systems used to qualify spaceflight hardware and support manufacturing.
What you'll do
- Design, build, maintain, and commission test systems and GSE, including electrical panels, cabinets, and wiring.
- Integrate external hardware and develop Varda’s PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling.
- Contribute to real-time control architecture and partner with engineering and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field.
- 5+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation.
- Hands-on experience integrating industrial hardware over protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), or RS-232/485 serial.
- Experience with a modern PLC ecosystem, ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text (IEC 61131-3), or eagerness to develop deep expertise there.
Nice to have
- Experience with custom or in-house control frameworks and advanced EtherCAT.
- Experience with aerospace testing, environmental qualification, propulsion test stands, or safety-related control systems.
Pay
USD 140,333 - 179,314 per year (base salary)
Tools
EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), RS-232/485 serial, Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, structured text (IEC 61131-3), Python, Grafana, InfluxDB
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative