Materials and Process Engineer II

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.

As a Materials and Process Engineer II at Varda you will have the opportunity to apply your materials science fundamentals to the special processes that protect and build our reentry vehicles. This role supports the development qualification and control of processes for flight hardware including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS) coatings polymers composites adhesives wet chemical processing and metallic structures. The Materials and Process Engineer II designs experiments and pathfinder hardware characterizes materials through mechanical thermal chemical and microstructural testing and uses statistics to define robust process windows. You will also contribute to root cause and corrective action (RCCA) material review board (MRB) and failure investigations working directly with design engineers technicians and quality to resolve material and process non-conformances. Materials and Process Engineers are a vital part of helping Varda build flight hardware consistently and at increasing cadence. The focus of the job is to turn well-understood materials and processes into repeatable documented results for every vehicle Varda produces

• Develop qualify and maintain special processes for flight hardware including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS) coatings polymers composites adhesives and processes applicable to metallic structures

• Develop and control wet chemical processes (cleaning etching passivation conversion coating and similar).

• Implement corrosion prevention and control practices and assess chemical compatibility between materials process fluids and service environments

• Design experiments methodologies and pathfinder hardware to de-risk processes and characterize materials and processes through mechanical thermal chemical and microstructural testing and use statistical methods to define process windows

• Define tooling fixture test equipment cleanliness contamination control and material handling requirements for assigned processes and flight hardware

• Develop and maintain Special Process Specifications Process Qualification and Validation Records and Control Plans

• Lead and contribute to RCCAs MRB and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances including corrosion surface contamination defects found in NDE test or inspection failure analysis (fractography metallography SEM/EDS chemical analysis) in-house or through partner labs.

• B.S. in Materials Science Mechanical Chemical or Aerospace Engineering or similar or demonstrated equivalent experience and expertise.

• 1 years of materials process or manufacturing engineering experience in aerospace or another high-reliability industry.

• Expertise in materials science (metals polymers ceramics composites) and their failure modes corrosion mechanisms and basic chemistry (acid-base reactions pH material compatibility with process chemicals).

• Hands-on experience with at least one relevant process or lab method (composite layup and cure bonding coating application ablative or TPS fabrication wet chemical processing welding machining mechanical testing or metallography).

• Expertise in basic statistics (descriptive statistics distributions confidence intervals hypothesis testing regression).

• Expertise reading engineering drawings material specifications and test reports with strong first-principles problem solving to diagnose process defects and drive corrective action.

• Experience working safely with process chemicals including acids bases and solvents using proper PPE and handling procedures.

• Must be physically able to regularly lift 25 lbs. bend stoop and stand for extended periods while working directly with flight hardware.

• M.S. or PhD in Materials Science Chemical Engineering or a related discipline.

• Experience with ablative or high-temperature materials (phenolic-impregnated carbon ablator carbon-carbon ceramic matrix composites silicone or epoxy-based ablatives).

• Experience with polymer and composite processing (prepreg layup autoclave and out-of-autoclave cure resin infusion potting bonding cure kinetics).

• Experience with coatings surface treatments including thermal barrier coatings anodization conversion coatings passivation paints primers including surface prep and adhesion testing.

• Experience with corrosion testing and evaluation (salt spray galvanic compatibility crevice and stress corrosion electrochemical methods).

• Experience with wet chemical processing including bath chemistry monitoring and control high-purity (deionized or reverse osmosis) water systems and precision cleaning with cleanliness verification (NVR particulate water-break).

• Experience with aerospace metals (stainless steel aluminum titanium nickel alloys) and their processing including heat treatment welding brazing and finishing.

• Experience with SPC measurement system analysis (gage R&R) process capability (Cp/Cpk) and DOE with experience using statistical software (JMP Minitab Python or similar).

• Experience with thermal and chemical analysis (DSC TGA DMA FTIR) mechanical testing (tensile flexure shear peel hardness) and NDE (ultrasonic dye penetrant X-ray thermography) including interpreting results.

• Experience writing material and process specifications test reports and engineering memos.

• Experience supporting process qualification first article builds and RCCAs.

• Familiarity with space environment M&P requirements (outgassing contamination control electrical bonding and grounding) and relevant standards (AWS ASTM AMS MMPDS).

• Salary Range: $119543 - $172673/per year

• This role is on-site in 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

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).