# Principal Mechanisms Engineer - Payloads at Varda

- Company: Varda
- What the company does: Expanding the economic bounds of humankind with the world's first orbital manufacturing & reentry platform. Backed by General Catalyst, Khosla and Founders Fund.
- Company website: https://varda.com/
- Type: Startups
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: El Segundo, California, United States
- Work setup: On-site
- Pay: $182K to $232K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-09-17
- Apply by: 2026-11-01
- Apply: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vardaspace/jobs/7997895003
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/varda-principal-mechanisms-engineer-payloads/

## About the role

As a Principal Mechanisms Engineer on Varda’s Payload team, you will define and lead the development of complex electromechanical flight hardware that operates in orbit, endures hypersonic reentry, and returns to Earth for inspection and iteration. You will shape payload architecture across pharmaceutical manufacturing and hypersonic reentry testbed missions—guiding systems from early concept through detailed design, integration, testing, launch, and recovery.

## What they're looking for

- BS/BEng in Mechanical, Aerospace, Mechatronics, or related field
- 7+ years of experience designing, integrating, testing, and troubleshooting electromechanical hardware
- Deep mechanical expertise with breadth in at least two adjacent disciplines (avionics, software, thermal, optics, test, etc.)
- Track record leading teams through full cycle electromechanical space flight hardware development
- Experience communicating with diverse technical and executive audiences, both internal and external

Tags: Payload & Mechanisms