Materials and Process Engineer II

<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 Materials and Process Engineer II at Varda, you will have the opportunity to apply your materials science fundamentals to the special processes that protect and build our reentry vehicles. This role supports the development, qualification, and control of processes for flight hardware, including ablative and thermal protection systems (TPS), coatings, polymers, composites, adhesives, wet chemical processing, and metallic structures. The Materials and Process Engineer II designs experiments and pathfinder hardware, characterizes materials through mechanical, thermal, chemical, and microstructural testing, and uses statistics to define robust process windows. You will also contribute to root cause and corrective action (RCCA), material review board (MRB), and failure investigations, working directly with design engineers, technicians, and quality to resolve material and process non-conformances. Materials and Process Engineers are a vital part of helping Varda build flight hardware consistently and at increasing cadence. The focus of the job is to turn well-understood materials and processes into repeatable, documented results for every vehicle Varda produces</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </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="1" 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>

</ul>

<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="2" 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>

</ul>

<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="3" 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>

</ul>

<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="4" 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>

</ul>

<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="5" 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>

</ul>

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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="6" 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>

</ul>

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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="7" data-aria-level="1"><span data-contrast="auto">Lead and contribute to RCCAs, MRB and failure review boards for material and process non-conformances, including corrosion, surface contamination, defects found in NDE, test, or inspection, fai