Senior Ground Systems Software Engineer

Varda is accelerating the development of commercial space infrastructure, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. Our mission is to expand the economic bounds of humankind by creating both the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. 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.

About the role

The Mission Software team is responsible for Varda's critical ground segment software and the platform it runs on, enabling spacecraft operations. We operate at the intersection of telemetry and commanding, data acquisition and distribution, mission control interfaces, simulation and test automation, with reliable deployment across lab, test range, and mission operations environments. You'll work hands-on with flight software, avionics, RF/ground systems, and mission ops.

Responsibilities

• Own Ground Segment Services: Develop and maintain high-reliability services for telemetry ingestion, scaling, distribution, and commanding. Ensure deterministic behavior for real-time operations and post-flight analysis.
• Mission Control Interfaces: Deliver operator-grade UIs and dashboards that optimize "ops time" and reduce cognitive load across integration, test, and on-orbit operations phases.
• Simulation and Test Automation: Build tools to run flight-software simulations, device emulators, and scenario-based automated tests - enabling fast, safe iteration for avionics, GNC, and operations teams.
• Build the Mission Platform: Design, implement, and productionize software for mission and ground software teams. Standardize CI/CD pipelines, artifact management, service templates, infrastructure-as-code, simulation and hardware-in-the-loop frameworks, test harnesses, and observability - all delivered as self-service tooling.
• Deployments Across Environments: Create robust deployment patterns for lab benches, test stands, and mission networks. Implement safe rollout/rollback strategies and air-gapped or limited-connectivity deployment approaches.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, math, physics, engineering, or equivalent technical experience in safety-critical software.
• 5+ years of experience in the development of spacecraft or similar safety-critical software.
• Expertise with development in Python, along with a strong understanding of the language concepts.
• Strong systems fundamentals: concurrency, networking, performance, reliability.
• Experience building real-time data acquisition, scaling, and distribution services - low-latency messaging, time-series and relational stores.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD, dependency/build systems, and infrastructure-as-code.
• End-to-end observability experience: logging, metrics, tracing.
• Docker/Kubernetes; release management, phased rollouts, and operational readiness for controlled networks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in C++, Ansible, and/or NiceGUI.
• Experience with DAQ and closed-loop control (lab/test control environments).
• Prior work on CI/testing/simulation/data tools integrated with flight software teams.
• Experience with requirements, test, and certification artifacts from safety-critical or certified workflows.
• Knowledge of ground systems standards; security in mission networks.
• Experience building mission-grade UIs with structured command workflows, alarming, and situational awareness.

Pay

Salary range: $169,000 - $216,000 annually. Leveling and base salary is determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance. Offer compensation also includes the ability to receive stock options under the Company's Equity Incentive Plan.

Benefits

• Flexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays
• 100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA options
• Voluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance
• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses
• 12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers)
• Family building, pregnancy, parenting, and menopause benefits via Maven Clinic
• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents
• Substantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up
• 401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested)
• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement
• Relocation support for new hires, if needed
• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly
• Company and team-bonding events, happy hours, and mission-success celebrations
• Complimentary EV charging

Schedule

This role is on-site in El Segundo, CA.

ITAR Requirements: Varda only hires "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).