Flight Software Internship Spring 2027

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.Vardas 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.

Spring internships will range between the months of January and May.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.

Internships at Varda are optimal for students looking to grow technically and professionally while working on impactful projects critical to the companys success. 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 and were dedicated to providing an experience that will let your decisions and contributions help drive Vardas success.

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.

• Proficiency in C

• Experience working with embedded systems or microcontrollers (not limited to Arduino)

• 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.

• 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.

• Computer Architecture

• Operating Systems

• Software Engineering / Computer Science Fundamentals

• Data Structures & Algorithms

• (Bonus) Signals and Systems

• (Bonus) Digital Design Assembly Embedded Systems Electronics

• Hourly Rate: $37.00
• Housing stipend for interns relocating to the area
• Commuter benefit to support local transportation

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).