Flight Software Internship Fall 2026
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Job Location:
El Segundo, CA - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
30+ days ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
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.
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
Fall internships will range between the months of August and December.All dates dependent upon the university schedule of the selected students. Internships are full-time and on-site in Los Angeles CA. To be considered for this internship candidates must be actively enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program.
As a Software Engineering Intern you will contribute to the software that powers Vardas missions across ground systems flight and embedded software testing and simulation and developer platform and infrastructure. You will help build tools and services that assist engineers and operators in monitoring commanding and analyzing spacecraft strengthen testing and simulation capabilities and improve reliability and observability for missioncritical operations.
We encourage applicants from all backgrounds including those historically underrepresented in aerospace and software as well as candidates from nontraditional educational paths. If you are driven by curiosity motivated to learn fundamentals and excited to tackle real engineering constraints we want to hear from you. Even if you dont meet every preferred skill or havent had access to robotics teams embedded labs or maker spaces. We value potential clarity of thought and growth mindset.
What You Will Work On
At Varda writing code is often the smaller challenge. The larger challenge is engineering systems that behave correctly under real constraints. We think about the timing determinism safety reliability and clarity of design. We value firstprinciples reasoning curiosity about how computers and networks actually work and a disciplined approach to understanding problems at their root.
- Work with engineers building components for baremetal RTOS and Linuxbased embedded processors and learn verification and validation techniques used to ensure system quality.
- Contribute to services for telemetry ingestion scaling distribution and commanding and help build operatorfocused interfaces that reduce cognitive load during integration testing and onorbit operations.
- Build tools for flightsoftware simulations device emulators and automated tests to enable fast safe iteration for avionics GNC and mission operations teams.
- Help standardize CI/CD pipelines artifact management service templates infrastructureascode hardwareintheloop frameworks test harnesses and observability tools.
Responsibilities
You will be paired with mentors across Mission Software Flight Software and Embedded Systems and your projects will be matched to your skills and coursework.
- Use firstprinciples reasoning to approach problems and justify design tradeoffs.
- Build Python and/or C tools services and libraries that interface with flight and ground systems emphasizing correctness determinism and observability.
- Contribute to automation for simulation hardwareintheloop and scenariobased testing.
- Debug issues that cross abstraction boundaries including OS behavior networking timing and hardwaresoftware interactions.
- Collaborate across flight software embedded systems mission operations and test teams; communicate clearly ask clarifying questions early and seek support when needed.
Basic Qualifications
- Proficiency in C and/or Python.
- Actively enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate program during the internship term.
- Understanding of core computer science fundamentals including data structures algorithms and operating systems.
- Ability to debug complex software issues and comfort working in Linux environments.
Preferred Skills And Experience
- Familiarity with systems fundamentals including concurrency networking performance and reliability.
- Exposure to realtime embedded development or safetycritical software and a working knowledge of math and physics.
- Experience may come from coursework personal projects community college bootcamps opensource contributions internships or selfdriven learning. We care more about your fundamentals curiosity and engineering approach than how you acquired them.
- Participation in any project work. Whether robotics rocketry capstone projects personal builds lab work or opensource contributions. Focus on demonstrating an interest in understanding systems beneath abstraction layers.
Relevant Coursework
- Data Structures & Algorithms
- Operating Systems
- Computer Architecture
- Software Engineering / CS Fundamentals
- Bonus:Signals and Systems Digital Design Embedded Systems Electronics
Compensation
- Hourly Rate: $37.00
- Housing stipend for interns relocating to the area
- Commuter benefit to support local transportation
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. At present some of our technology to which employees have access requires a license to be exported to individuals other than U.S. Persons as defined in U.S. export regulations. Because our employees are provided access to export-controlled items our current 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 in the U.S.)
Learn more about the ITAR here.
Benefits
- Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
- Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
- 401(k) matching (interns excluded)
- Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
- Health insurance including Vision and Dental
- Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
- Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)
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.
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 theE-Verifyprogram.
E-Verify Notice Right To Work Notice
Required Experience:
Intern
About Company
Expanding the economic bounds of humankind with the world's first orbital manufacturing & reentry platform.
