Senior Mission Software Engineer

Responsibilities

• Own and evolve critical ground segment software and platforms that enable spacecraft operations, including telemetry, commanding, and mission control interfaces.
• Develop and maintain high-reliability services for telemetry ingestion, scaling, distribution, and commanding.
• Deliver operator-grade UIs and dashboards to optimize mission operations and reduce cognitive load.
• Build simulation and test automation tools, including flight-software simulations and device emulators.
• Design and productionize mission platforms using CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, and observability frameworks.
• Create robust deployment patterns for lab benches, test stands, and mission networks.

Requirements

• Expertise in Python.
• Strong systems fundamentals including concurrency, networking, performance, and reliability.
• Experience building real-time data acquisition, scaling, and distribution services.
• Hands-on experience with CI/CD, dependency/build systems, and infrastructure-as-code.
• Experience with end-to-end observability (logging, metrics, tracing).
• Proficiency with Docker and Kubernetes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in C++ or Ansible.
• Experience with NiceGUI or building mission-grade UIs.
• Experience with DAQ and closed-loop control in lab or test environments.
• Prior work on CI/testing/simulation tools integrated with flight software teams.
• Familiarity with ground systems standards and security in mission networks.

Benefits

• Equity in a fully funded space startup.
• 401(k) matching.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Health insurance, including Vision and Dental.
• On-site lunch and snacks, with dinners provided twice a week.
• Maternity and Paternity leave.

About the Company

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 the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth.