Data Engineer

Data EngineerEl Segundo, California, United StatesAbout VardaLow 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 RoleVarda is seeking a Data Engineer to join our team. In this role, you will support the development of data pipelines, storage, security, and quality that power the organization. You will learn and contribute to the current application ecosystem and data architecture. You will collaborate with team members across functions to help identify opportunities for process or application improvements.You will assist in the implementation of these solutions through the product life cycle from opportunity identification to support and sustainment. You will work cross-functionally with team members across Varda to support initiatives that enhance company processes, execution insight, and infrastructure robustness. 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 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, onsite, exempt position located in our El Segundo headquarters.ResponsibilitiesAssist in building and maintaining ELT pipelines that ingest data from ERP, CRM, PLM, QMS, and other enterprise systems.Support enterprise data platform and enterprise application evaluations by researching external solutions and documenting findings.Assist with data storage tasks, including table format standards, partitioning strategies, and interoperability across the tool ecosystem.Establish data quality frameworks, lineage tracking, and pipeline observability, including SLA monitoring, proactive alerting, and production-grade logging.Support AI/ML workflows by designing feature pipelines, clean data products, and a governed knowledge layer that keeps data semantically aligned for reliable model and agent consumption.Work with application engineers and functional stakeholders to help translate requirements and business logic into technical specifications and data solutions.Operate effectively within regulated environments where your pipelines will be subject to compliance and auditability requirements enforced by FDA GMP, ITAR, and DCAA.Implement and enforce modern development practices, including source control, peer review, CI/CD pipelines, and automated build/test/deploy workflows (ex, GitHub Actions).Leverage AI-assisted development tooling to accelerate delivery and improve personal productivity.Learn and apply layered data architecture patterns to organize data assets for reliability and reuse.Basic QualificationsBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related fields.3+ years of experience in enterprise integration or data engineering roles (advanced degrees count towards years of experience).Experience with cloud data warehouse or Lakehouse platforms (ex, Snowflake, Databricks).Experience with relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL) databases (ex, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, DynamoDB)Exposure to data transformation tools (ex, dbt).Proficiency in SQL and at least one general-purpose programming language (ex, Python).Exposure to Enterprise Systems such as MRP, CRM, ERP, etc.Foundational understanding of data modeling concepts (star schema, normalization, dimensional modeling).Familiarity with source control (Git) and basic CI/CD concepts.Ability to write clean, documented code and a willingness to learn data quality testing practices.Understanding of software architecture principles, data warehousing, and ELT workflows.Capability to gather business requirements from stakeholders and take a project from initial concept to finished product.Ability to work with end users to rapidly iterate on prototype applications by solving end-user issues.Ability to translate technical concepts to non-technical audiences for stakeholders, internal and external to the organization.Preferred Skills and QualificationsExperience with database administration, including schema design, performance tuning, and query optimization.Experience interfacing with engineering and manufacturing groups to understand system designs and translations to data needs.Experience supporting AI/ML pipelines, including feature stores, training data pipelines, or model monitoring infrastructure.Experience in a start-up or similar high-growth environment.Familiarity with workflow orchestration tools (ex, Airflow).Exposure to aerospace, defense, or pharmaceutical data environments.Experience working with ERP systems deployed in a design development environment.Exposure to Infrastructure as Code for cloud resource provisioning (e.g., Terraform).Relevant platform or tooling certifications (ex, dbt Certified Developer, cloud data platform certifications).Pay RangeE2: $120,000 - $153,000 per year (1-3 years of exp)Sr. Engineer: $140,000 - 180,000 per year (3-6 years of exp)This role is on-site in El Segundo, CALeveling and base salary are determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performanceYou will be eligible for incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awardsBenefitsVarda offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support health, financial well?being, and a high?quality workplace experience. Below is an overview of what full?time employees receive (at this time, interns receive a subset of benefits):Health & WellnessFlexible PTO policy + 12 paid holidays100% company-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer-matched HSA optionsVoluntary accident, hospital, critical illness, and pet insurance$120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses12 weeks of parental leave (with supplemental disability leave for CA mothers)Family building, pregnancy, parenting and menopause benefits via Maven ClinicSponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependentsFinancial & RetirementSubstantial incentive equity in a fully funded space start-up401(k) retirement plan with 6% employer match (immediately vested)$20/pay period cell phone reimbursementRelocation support for new hires, if neededWorkplace Experience & PerksFully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weeklyCompany and team-bonding events, happy hours and mission-success celebrationsC