Applications Engineer - General

Varda Space Industries • El Segundo, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

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. 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 Asparouthov 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. Varda is seeking an Applications Engineer to join our team as a multi-function technical resource. In this role, you will be responsible for leading efforts to develop, deploy, improve, and manage enterprise applications across several business functions, including CRM, HRIS, EHS, and other operational systems. You will manage the implementation of these solutions through the entire product life cycle, from opportunity identification to support and sustainment. You will work cross-functionally with teams across Varda to lead initiatives to enhance company processes, execution insight, and infrastructure. You will also provide surge support to peer application engineers during high-demand periods. Projects will include a wide range of desired outcomes, including cycle time reduction, cost reduction, improved decision making, risk reduction, and any other key operational efficiency. Your contributions will immediately impact functional operations across the company and have an opportunity to contribute to Varda's overall growth and success. This role will report to the Director of Enterprise Applications. This is a full-time, exempt position located in our El Segundo headquarters.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Analytics, Business Administration, or a related technical field.
• 3+ years of experience supporting or managing enterprise applications (CRM, HRIS, EHS, or similar).
• Proficiency in SQL and at least one scripting/programming language (Python, JavaScript, or similar).
• Demonstrated experience building reports and dashboards in a BI platform (Power BI, Tableau, or equivalent).
• Comfortable context-switching across multiple business domains and balancing competing priorities from different stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to produce system design documentation, SOPs, and training materials for non-technical stakeholders across varied business functions.

Nice To Haves

• Salesforce administration or development experience (Flows or Lightning).
• Experience with HRIS platforms (Workday, BambooHR, Rippling) and/or EHS systems.
• Experience with ATS platforms (Greenhouse, Lever) and recruiting workflow optimization.
• Hands-on experience with ETL tools (Alteryx, dbt, SSIS, or Informatica) and cloud data platforms (Snowflake, Databricks, AWS Redshift).
• Experience with aerospace & defense or Pharma enterprise systems.
• Track record of building workflow automation or custom tooling with quantifiable outcomes such as hours saved, error reduction, or user adoption metrics.
• Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Project Management Professional (PMP), or Lean Six Sigma certification.

Responsibilities

• Own a portfolio of cross-functional enterprise systems (CRM, HRIS, EHS, and similar), daily admin, data integrity, vendor escalations, and release cycles.
• Map and re-engineer business processes across departments to eliminate manual bottlenecks and improve data capture at the source.
• Build internal applications (low-code and custom-built) and ETL pipelines that connect disparate systems into a unified data layer.
• Design dashboards and solutions in Power BI, SQL, and Python for cross-functional stakeholders.
• Provide surge support to peer applications engineers during peak project periods, system rollouts, and critical incidents.
• Build, pilot, and deploy AI-powered tools, including LLM-based agents and generative tooling across supported business functions.
• Lead training and enablement that drives adoption and reduces shadow IT across supported business units.

Benefits

• Exciting team of professionals at the top of their field working by your side
• Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
• 401(k) matching (interns excluded)
• Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
• Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
• Lunch and snacks provided on site every day.
• Dinners provided twice a week.
• Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level