Varda Space Industries
Terrestrial Controls Engineer - Automation & Python
About this role
Varda seeks a Terrestrial Controls Engineer to design and build sophisticated ground support equipment and test systems for spaceflight hardware qualification. You'll work with modern PLC frameworks, EtherCAT tooling, and Python orchestration to integrate complex industrial hardware and own systems end-to-end in a fast-paced space tech startup.
What you'll do
- Design, build, and maintain test systems and ground support equipment for flight hardware qualification and manufacturing
- Integrate external hardware including thermal vacuum chambers, pressure systems, and precision instrumentation over protocols like EtherCAT and Modbus
- Develop and extend the internal PLC framework and EtherCAT tooling using TwinCAT 3 and structured text
- Contribute to architecture decisions on real-time control implementation, balancing PLC versus Linux-based approaches
- Build electrical cabinets and wire panels, owning systems from electrical design through commissioning
- Partner with propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams to deliver test infrastructure on aggressive timelines
What they're looking for
- PLC programming (Beckhoff TwinCAT 3, IEC 61131-3 structured text)
- Industrial communication protocols (EtherCAT, Modbus TCP/RTU, RS-232/485)
- Python for control orchestration and automation
- Electrical panel design and cabinet wiring
- Real-time control systems and deterministic algorithms
- Hardware integration and commissioning
- Test automation and data acquisition
- Spacecraft or aerospace testing experience
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Varda Space Industries
Varda Space Industries builds commercial spacecraft and orbital manufacturing systems for missions in low Earth orbit, including reentry capsules and satellite buses. The company is hiring mission operations engineers, software engineers (ground segment, flight, and embedded), and manufacturing engineers to develop mission-critical systems, operational infrastructure, and scalable production capabilities.
- Website
- varda.com
Likely interview questions
- Walk us through a complex hardware integration project you led—what protocols did you use and how did you handle communication challenges?
- Describe your experience with EtherCAT. Have you worked with advanced features like DC sync or ENI configuration?