Varda Space
Thermal Hardware and Test Engineer II
$120K–$153K
El Segundo, California, United States · Full-time · Posted Oct 2, 2026
- Experience
- 3+ years in thermal design, test, and fabrication; the degree qualification also notes equivalent professional experience, typically 1–3+ years.
- Education
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline, with consideration given to equivalent professional experience.
- Visa sponsorship
- Must be a U.S. person authorized to work in the U.S. and permitted to access export-controlled technology without an export license.
About the job
Designs, builds, tests, and maintains thermal and fluid hardware and test infrastructure for ground systems and spacecraft.
What you'll do
- Develop thermal hardware and test infrastructure from concept through fabrication, integration, validation, and maintenance.
- Develop thermal control systems and conduct component acceptance and qualification thermal-vacuum tests.
- Design and assemble test rigs, implement instrumentation and data acquisition, and document and troubleshoot hardware.
What they ask for
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline, with consideration given to equivalent professional experience.
- 3+ years applying engineering principles to thermal design, testing, and fabrication in a manufacturing environment.
- Proficiency in detailed thermal analysis in Thermal Desktop and SINDA/FLUINT; experience anchoring thermal models to test and/or flight data.
- Experience planning and executing Thermal Vacuum Chamber testing; MATLAB or equivalent for data processing and automation; familiarity with SMC-S-016 thermal margins and qualification requirements.
Nice to have
- Hands-on fabrication skills such as basic machining, welding, or rapid prototyping.
- Experience with ANSYS thermal analysis or formal project management.
Pay
USD 119,543- 152,749 per year (base salary)
Tools
Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT, MATLAB, SMC-S-016, ANSYS, PLCs
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative