Varda Space
Space Systems Engineer, Flight Safety
$105K–$153K
El Segundo, California, United States · Full-time · Posted Oct 2, 2026
- Education
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, systems engineering, or related field.
- Visa sponsorship
- Only hires U.S. persons permitted to access its technology without an export license: U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, or protected individuals admitted as refugees or granted asylum.
About the job
Performs flight safety analyses and develops regulatory strategies and safety deliverables for FAA launch and reentry licensing, supporting mission rehearsals and live recovery operations.
What you'll do
- Model failure-mode trajectories and debris containment, and complete vehicle-level hazard and failure analyses.
- Develop regulatory strategies, Methods of Compliance, safety cases, and vehicle-level submissions for launch and reentry authorizations.
- Set safety limits and mission rules, and serve as the Flight Safety responsible engineer during rehearsals and live recovery operations.
What they ask for
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, systems engineering, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ownership and execution of a complex engineering project, cradle-to-grave.
- Strong experience with risk management methodologies and tools, including FMEA, FHA, and Fault Tree Analysis.
- Experience integrating interdisciplinary systems in the aerospace industry; excellent communication skills to influence teams and present to executives, customers, and regulators.
Nice to have
- Experience with FAA Part 450, expected casualty modeling, trajectory dispersion, and/or debris analysis.
- Safety-critical mission operations experience in aviation or space, or experience with FCC Part 25 or Part 5 licensing.
Pay
USD 105,000 - 139,466 per year base salary; USD 119,543 - 152,749 per year base salary
Tools
FAA Part 450, FMEA, FHA, Fault Tree Analysis, FCC Part 25, Part 5
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative