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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Thermal Hardware and Test Engineer II - **Company:** Varda Space Industries - **Location:** Los Angeles, CA, United States - **Experience:** Starter - **Salary:** $119,543.0 - $152,749.0 - **Contract:** Permanent contract - **Skills:** Computer-Aided Design, Hardware Design, MATLAB, Rapid Prototyping Process, Reliability Engineering, Data Processing, Ansys - **Published:** August 12, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=42892b5fd217bee7 ## About the Role * B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline, with consideration given to equivalent professional experience (typically 1-3+ years) * 3+ years of experience and knowledge applying engineering principles to thermal design, test, and fabrication in a manufacturing environment * Proficiency in detailed thermal analysis in Thermal Desktop, SINDA/FLUINT * Experience anchoring thermal models to test and/or flight data * Experience in planning and executing Thermal Vacuum Chamber (TVac) testing * Experience in MATLAB (or equivalent) for data processing and task automation * Familiarity with thermal margins and qualification test requirements in SMC-S-016 * Excellent written and verbal communication skills with an aptitude for interdisciplinary technical communication Preferred Skills and Experience * Hands-on fabrication skills: basic machining, welding, or rapid prototyping. * Experience in thermal analysis tools: Thermal Desktop, ANSYS * Proven track record of formal project management and delivering results in a fast-paced environment. ## Description As the Thermal Hardware and Test Engineer II, you will be responsible for hardware design, build, and test for ground and spacecraft thermal and fluid systems. This is a hands-on role, spanning mechanical, electrical, fluid, and control disciplines with opportunities to innovate at every stage: concept, fabrication, instrumentation, and commissioning. You will be responsible for developing active and passive thermal control systems, such as heat pipes, pumped fluid loops, thermal switches, etc. as well as the supporting infrastructure for testing and data-processing. Day-to-day responsibilities will be focused in thermomechanical hardware and system sizing, CAD design, fabrication, testing, instrumentation, and troubleshooting. Successful candidates thrive on solving hard problems, adapting to dynamic requirements, and collaborating across multiple domains. You will gain significant ownership, see your contributions rapidly come to life, and help us uphold the highest standards of performance, reliability, and safety in our hardware. If expanding the capability of in-orbit manufacturing to serve life-changing products to patients sounds intriguing, this role is for you. This role is open at the Eng II level, with levels determined based on candidate experience. Responsibilities * Drive end-to-end development of thermal hardware and test infrastructure: concept, design, fabrication, integration, validation, and maintenance * Develop active and passive thermal control systems with thermal analysis engineers for payload and vehicle thermal control * Inform manufacturing and integration of thermal/fluid hardware onto the vehicle * Conduct component level acceptance and qualification thermal vacuum tests * Evaluate the impact of hardware design decisions on packaging, thermal, environmental, and loads to ensure the best system-level solution * Architect and assemble fluid, thermal, mechanical, and electrical designs, test rigs, and fixtures that support a broad range of development activities * Implement instrumentation and data acquisition (DAQ) solutions, integrating sensors, transducers, actuators, PLCs, and embedded controllers * Generate documentation for procedures, schematics, reports for ground test and flight hardware * Apply first-principles thinking to diagnose issues, resolve anomalies, and optimize equipment reliability to >99% uptime, * 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 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. 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. ## Related Videos - [More efficient software for more efficient microchips](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1164-more-efficient-software-for-more-efficient-microchips) - [Quantum Computing - The tiny and the big challenges](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/934-quantum-computing-the-tiny-and-the-big-challenges) - [Leveraging Large Language Models for Legacy Code Translation: Challenges and Solutions](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1157-leveraging-large-language-models-for-legacy-code-translation-challenges-and-solutions) - [Cloud Vendor Lock-In - Is it just a new version of the Database Abstraction Layers?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/1185-cloud-vendor-lock-in-is-it-just-a-new-version-of-the-database-abstraction-layers) - [Building a hypercar from scratch](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/607-building-a-hypercar-from-scratch) - [Software stack under and over the hood of the fastest accelerating car in the world](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/221-software-stack-under-and-over-the-hood-of-the-fastest-accelerating-car-in-the-world) ## Related Articles - [How We Built a Worry-Free System That Runs for 10+ Years – And What We’d Do Again](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/751-how-we-built-a-worry-free-system-that-runs-for-10-years-and-what-we-d-do-again) - [Highest Paying Tech Companies for Developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/220-highest-paying-tech-companies-for-developers) - [How software is steering vehicle technology](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/515-how-software-is-steering-vehicle-technology) - [Dev Digest 121 - AI goes offline](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/456-dev-digest-121-ai-goes-offline) - [Is Software Engineering Hard?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/448-is-software-engineering-hard) - [Résumé-Driven Development: How IT trends affect the job market for software developers](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/59-resume-driven-development-how-it-trends-affect-the-job-market-for-software-developers)