Materials and Process Engineer

<div class="content-intro"><h2><span data-contrast="none">About Varda</span></h2>

<p>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. <strong>Varda’s 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.</strong></p>

<p>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.  </p>

<p>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.  </p>

<p>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. </p>

<p>Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem.</p></div><h2><span data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-parastyle="heading 2">About This Role</span></span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"134245418":true,"134245529":true,"201341983":0,"335559738":160,"335559739":80,"335559740":276}"> </span></h2>

<p><span data-contrast="auto">As a Principal Materials and Process Engineer at Varda, you will have the opportunity to set the technical direction for materials and processes across the company as we scale from a few bespoke vehicles to many consistent, concurrent builds. This role is the recognized subject-matter expert for the special processes used on flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, wet chemical processing, corrosion control, and metallic structures. The Principal Materials and Process Engineer defines the standards, specifications, process qualifications, and control plans that Varda and its suppliers build to, and leads RCCAs, MRB, and failure investigations for the most critical material and process non-conformances. You will make sound decisions quickly without established infrastructure, influence material decisions owned by other teams, and hire and mentor engineers. You will also help build Varda's materials and processes function, including approved materials and processes lists, materials usage agreement processes, and in-house materials lab capability. Materials and Process Engineers are a vital part of increasing Varda's build cadence, working directly with design engineers, technicians, and suppliers across the full range of materials and processes required to manufacture our vehicles. The focus of the job is to implement incremental improvement for every vehicle Varda produces while establishing the standards that let the whole organization scale.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":276}"> </span></p>

<h2><span data-contrast="none"><span data-ccp-parastyle="heading 2">Responsibilities</span></span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"134245418":true,"134245529":true,"201341983":0,"335559738":160,"335559739":80,"335559740":276}"> </span></h2>

<ul>

<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="15" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">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</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":360,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":276,"335559991":360}"> </span></li>

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<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="16" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Develop and control wet chemical processes (cleaning, etching, passivation, conversion coating and similar).</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":360,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":276,"335559991":360}"> </span></li>

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<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="17" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Implement corrosion prevention and control practices, and assess chemical compatibility between materials, process fluids, and service environments</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":360,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":276,"335559991":360}"> </span></li>

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<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="18" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">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</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":360,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":276,"335559991":360}"> </span></li>

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<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="19" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Define tooling, fixture, test equipment, cleanliness, contamination control, and material handling requirements for assigned processes and flight hardware</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":360,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":276,"335559991":360}"> </span></li>

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<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":360,"469769226":"Symbol","469769242":[8226],"469777803":"left","469777804":"·","469777815":"hybridMultilevel"}" data-aria-posinset="20" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Develop and maintain Special Process Specifications, Process Qualification and Validation Records and Control Plans</span><span data-ccp-props="{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559685":360,"335559737":0,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":276,"335559991":360}"> </span></li>

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<li data-leveltext="·" data-font="Symbol" data-listid="13" data-list-defn-props="{"335552541":1,"335559685":720,"335559991":3