# Senior Terrestrial Automation & Controls Engineer 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: Senior
- Location: El Segundo, California, United States
- Work setup: On-site
- Pay: $140K to $179K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-10-11
- Apply by: 2026-11-25
- Apply: https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/vardaspace/jobs/8025169003?utm_source=1752vc&utm_medium=careers
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/varda-senior-terrestrial-automation-and-controls-engineer-2/

## About the role

The Senior Terrestrial Automation & Controls Engineer builds bespoke test infrastructure that qualifies spaceflight hardware for orbit. They design, build, and own sophisticated ground support equipment (GSE) and test systems: propulsion test stands, environmental qualification chambers, spacecraft-level integration testing and more! Our stack is modern, including a custom PLC framework and Beckhoff EtherCAT tooling built in-house. Found on 1752vc Careers, the job board for startup and VC roles.

## What they're looking for

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field
- 5+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, and/or industrial automation
- Hands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over protocols such as EtherCAT, Modbus (TCP/RTU), RS-232/485 serial, or similar communication standards
- Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem - ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text (IEC 61131-3), or a demonstrated eagerness to develop deep expertise there
- Comfort working across the full stack: designing electrical panels, wiring cabinets, debugging hardware, and writing control software
- Proven ability to thrive in a fast-paced startup environment where priorities shift, and end-to-end ownership of problems is expected

Tags: Automation & Controls

Source: 1752vc Careers, https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/varda-senior-terrestrial-automation-and-controls-engineer-2/