Principal Materials and Process Engineer

About Varda

Low Earth orbit is open for business. Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. Varda’s W-Series vehicles are built, designed, and operated by Varda in-house, including the pharmaceutical processing payloads, the capsules, the C-PICA heat shields, and the satellite buses.

From life-saving pharmaceuticals to more powerful fiber optics, there is a world of products used on Earth today that can only be manufactured in space. Varda is accelerating innovation in the orbital economy by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind.

Our team is uniquely suited to accomplishing this goal, with leadership and staff comprised of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 by Will Bruey and Delian Asparouhov with significant backing from world class investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Caffeinated Capital, General Catalyst, and Also Capital.

Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, where we have offices and a production facility where our vehicles, equipment, and materials are built, integrated, and tested. Varda also has offices in Washington, DC and Huntsville, AL.

Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.

About This Role

As a Principal Materials and Process Engineer at Varda, you will have the opportunity to set the technical direction for materials and processes across the company as we scale from a few bespoke vehicles to many consistent, concurrent builds. This role is the recognized subject-matter expert for the special processes used on flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, wet chemical processing, corrosion control, and metallic structures.

The Principal Materials and Process Engineer defines the standards, specifications, process qualifications, and control plans that Varda and its suppliers build to, and leads RCCAs, MRB, and failure investigations for the most critical material and process non-conformances. You will make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers. You will also help build Varda's materials and processes function, including approved materials and processes lists, materials usage agreement processes, and in-house materials lab capability. Materials and Process Engineers are a vital part of increasing Varda's build cadence, working directly with design engineers, technicians, and suppliers across the full range of materials and processes required to manufacture our vehicles. The focus of the job is to implement incremental improvement for every vehicle Varda produces while establishing the standards that let the whole organization scale.

Responsibilities

• Establish, qualify, and maintain special processes for flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, and metallic structures
• Engineer and control wet chemical processes such as cleaning, etching, passivation, and conversion coating
• Implement corrosion prevention and control practices, and assess chemical compatibility among materials, process fluids, and service environments
• Design experiments, test methodologies, and pathfinder hardware to de-risk new processes, then characterize results through mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microstructural testing and apply statistical methods to define process windows
• Define tooling, fixtures, test equipment, cleanliness, contamination control, and material handling requirements for assigned processes and hardware
• Author and maintain Special Process Specifications, Process Qualification and Validation Records, and Control Plans
• Lead and support RCCAs, MRB, and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances, including corrosion, surface contamination, and defects found in NDE, test, or inspection; perform failure analysis (fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, chemical analysis) in-house or through partner labs

Basic Qualifications

• B.S. in Materials Science, Metallurgical, Chemical, Mechanical, or a related engineering discipline, or equivalent experience (typically 6-10+ years)
• 6+ years in process and materials engineering in aerospace, semiconductor, or another high-reliability industry
• Proven record developing and qualifying processes and materials for flight or safety-critical hardware, including first article builds and compliance with standards (AWS, AMS, ASTM, or similar)
• Experience authoring and releasing specifications, design guidance, acceptance criteria, and drawing callouts for internal teams and suppliers
• Experience with thermal, chemical, mechanical, and NDE characterization, including interpreting results to define process windows
• Deep expertise in at least one area: ablatives/TPS, composites, polymers/adhesives, coatings/surface treatment, wet chemical processing/corrosion control, welding metallurgy, heat treat, additive, or NDE
• Experience with aerospace metals (stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, nickel alloys) and their processing, including heat treatment, welding, brazing, and finishing
• Knowledge of corrosion mechanisms (galvanic, crevice, pitting, stress corrosion, hydrogen embrittlement) and material compatibility with process fluids and service environments
• Experience developing and controlling wet chemical processes, including bath chemistry, rinse and water quality, precision cleaning and cleanliness verification, and handling hazardous, reactive, or oxidizing fluids
• Proficiency in applied statistics (DOE, SPC, process capability, MSA, regression, statistical tolerancing), including establishing statistically based material allowables, acceptance criteria, and sampling plans (e.g., A-basis, B-basis)
• Experience leading RCCAs, failure analysis, and material dispositions, including selecting and interpreting lab methods (fractography, metallography, SEM/EDS, chemical analysis) and running cross-functional investigations
• Experience developing control plans and special processes, and leading PFMEAs
• Experience setting M&P requirements for the space environment, including outgassing, contamination control, electrical bonding/grounding, thermal cycling, and UV exposure
• Strong technical writing, including specifications, test reports, and investment cases
• Ability to make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers
• Ability to regularly lift 25 lbs., bend, stoop, and stand for extended periods while working directly with flight hardware

Preferred Skills and Experience

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline, or AMPP/NACE certification
• Ablative, thermal protection, and thermal barrier materials for reentry, hypersonic, or propulsion applications, including characterization (arc jet, thermal conductivity, recession, char behavior)
• Polymer and composite processing at scale (cure cycle development, cure kinetics, void and porosity control)
• Spacecraft thermal control and finishing systems (MLI films, metallizations, anodize per MIL-A-8625, conversion coating per MIL-DTL-5541, plating, fluoropolymer coatings) and their effects on bonding and outgassing
• High-test peroxide (HTP) systems, including compatibility classes, passivation and conditioning, stabilizer and contaminant effects, catalyst bed materials, active-oxygen-loss testing, decomposition modeling, and diagnosing elevated decomposition or corrosion (propellant assay, trace-metal analysis)
• Other strong oxidizers and hypergols (LOX, N2O, N2O4/MON, hydrazines), including oxygen-service cleaning standards (ASTM G93, G88, IEST-STD-CC1246) and oxidizer-compatible polymers, elastomers, and lubricants (PTFE, PCTFE, FKM/FFKM, PEEK, dry-film, galling-resistant pairs)
• Designing, qualifying, or specifying wet process lines and high-purity water systems, including waste handling and EHS compliance
• Pharmaceutical or bioprocess materials (product-contact selection, ASME BPE, extractables and leachables, USP Class VI / ISO 10993, cleaning validation, potent-compound containment)
• Developing accelerated corrosion test programs and correlating results to service environments
• Advanced statistical methods (Bayesian, mixed-effects, Weibull, Monte Carlo) and advanced characterization (XRD, CT, XPS)
• Scaling processes to production build rates and qualifying and auditing special-process suppliers (NADCAP or similar)
• Building a process and materials function, including an approved materials and processes list, a materials usage agreement process, and an in-house materials lab
• Recognized subject-matter expertise, with a record of setting technical direction and standards beyond a single program, including cross-discipline chief-engineer or standards roles, publications, patents, or standards-committee participation

Pay Range

• Salary Range: $181,913 - $262,763/per year
• This role is on-sitein El Segundo, CA
• Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance
• You will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards

ITAR Requirements

Varda, like all employers, must ensure that its employees working in the United States are lawfully authorized to work in the U.S. Additionally, our employees are exposed to and have access to certain export-controlled items. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items, our policy is to only hire “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to our technology without an export license.

“US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).

E-Verify Statement

Varda Space Industries, Inc. participates in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security E-Verify program. The E-Verify program is an Internet-based employment eligibility verification system operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Learn more about the E-Verify program.

E-Verify Notice Right To Work Notice

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Varda Space Industries is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are always evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, martial status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.