Varda Space Industries
Spaceflight
SpacecraftReal‑TimeControlsandTestSystemsEngineer
“Spacecraft Real‑Time Controls and Test Systems Engineer at Varda Space Industries. Skills: Real-time controls, Test systems, PLC framework, EtherCAT tooling. Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground. Integrate with external hardware: thermal vacuum chambers, ovens,”
Industry & Context.
Debugging hardware
Must be U.S. person
What They're Looking For.
Must Have
Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, physics, engineering or equivalent technical experience, 5+ years of industry experience in test automation, controls, or industrial automation, Python skills for hardware control or test automation, Hands-on experience integrating with industrial hardware over protocols like EtherCAT, Modbus, serial, Experience with at least one modern PLC ecosystem, ideally Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 with structured text or willingness to develop deep expertise, Comfort working across the stack: writing control software, designing electrical panels, wiring cabinets, debugging hardware
Nice to Have
EtherCAT experience beyond consumer-level usage, Production experience with TwinCAT 3, structured text, IEC 61131-3, Experience designing deterministic, hard real-time control loops, Understanding of real-time PLC code vs. higher-level orchestration in Python, Bare-metal or embedded firmware experience, Experience with time-series data acquisition and visualization, Environmental test experience: TVAC, thermal cycling, vibration, Hands-on experience with high-pressure gas or fluid systems, Experience developing propulsion test stands or complex test infrastructure, Experience developing safety-related control systems
What You'll Do.
and maintain test systems and ground
Integrate with external hardware: thermal vacuum chambers
Develop and extend internal PLC framework and EtherCAT
Contribute to architecture decisions on real-time control implementation
Evaluate PLC-based vs. Linux-based approaches for high-frequency control
and own systems end-to-end
Partner with propulsion
and manufacturing teams
Deliver test infrastructure that meets needs on aggressive
Demonstrate sustainable engineering practices
Onboard new engineers to the tech stack
Maintain production systems
How You'll Work.
Team & Collaboration
Propulsion teams; Avionics teams; GNC teams; Manufacturing teams
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