Director, Payloads Systems Integration and Test

About Varda 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.  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. 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.   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.   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.  Join Varda, and work to create a bustling in-space ecosystem. About this role As Director of Payload Systems Integration and Test, you will lead and grow a team of multidisciplinary engineers responsible for end-to-end mission success of a diverse portfolio of payloads, such as inertial, RF, and optical sensors and communication systems, as well as various types of pharmaceutical processing payloads. This role combines deep technical authority with team leadership, product definition, and customer delivery  responsibility. You will own the successful execution of multiple concurrent payload missions, delivering flight hardware that operates in orbit, survives hypersonic reentry, and returns to Earth – reliably and at scale. Your team will serve as the technical bridge between each payload and the Varda vehicle, defining interfaces, planning and executing payload integration and test campaigns, coordinating in-orbit operations, and ensuring safe recovery of payload data and hardware. When payloads require special accommodations or vehicle modifications, your team will work across the vehicle engineering team to scope and implement these changes. As Director, you will manage day-to-day execution across the team, in addition to hiring and headcount planning, new project scoping, and development of standard workflows and processes. You will also own and evolve the Varda Payload User Guide, defining standard interfaces and accommodations for hosted payloads, and developing a roadmap that expands the set of customers and use cases Varda can support while simultaneously growing mission cadence. Responsibilities Build and lead the Payload Systems Integration & Test team, hiring and developing engineers across a range of experience levels Own integration and test for Varda's internal pharmaceutical processing payloads: test planning, functional and process verification, contamination control, and environmental qualification of fluidic and thermal flight hardware Partner closely with Payload & Mechanisms development engineers on pharma payload designs, staying engaged early enough in the design cycle to shape testability, and supporting the fast iteration these programs run on Take ambiguous customer mission objectives and determine how to meet them with the existing platform, or scope the non-recurring engineering needed and bring in the right development teams Own payload interface definition and requirements: ICDs, interface verification, and the standards documentation (payload user guide) that external customers and internal teams work from Plan and execute payload integration and test campaigns across both lines, including interface verification, functional testing, and environmental qualification (random vibration, thermal vacuum, EMI/EMC, shock) Work with the production crew building and integrating payload hardware, and establish the cleanroom practices both lines depend on Coordinate with Vehicle Integration & Test as a sister function, sharing practices and infrastructure where it makes sense while maintaining distinct practices where appropriate Work with Mission Management to hit contract milestones and customer commitments, and serve as the technical face to customers through the mission lifecycle Support payload operations through flight, reentry, and recovery Establish and mature the processes, documentation, and cleanroom practices that let payload integration scale with mission cadence Basic Qualifications 10+ years of spacecraft or aerospace hardware experience spanning integration, test, and mission execution Demonstrated ability to take poorly-defined technical problems and turn them into executable plans, interfaces, and requirements Hands-on experience planning and running environmental qualification campaigns on flight hardware Strong interface engineering background: ICDs, requirements flow-down, interface verification across organizational boundaries Experience leading engineers, including hiring and developing early-career talent Breadth across mechanical, thermal, fluidic, electrical, and software interfaces, with enough depth to be a credible technical backstop for the team Cleanroom operations and contamination control Customer-facing experience: scoping work, managing execution schedules, setting expectations, and negotiating technical commitments B.S. in a relevant engineering discipline Preferred Qualifications Active TS/SCI security clearance, or eligibility to be granted one Test and verifi