Applications Engineer - General

Overview

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 and to create the products and infrastructure needed so space can directly benefit life on Earth. Our team includes veterans from Space

X, Blue Origin, major pharmaceutical companies and Silicon Valley. Varda was founded in January 2021 and is headquartered in El Segundo, California, with 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 outcomes such as cycle time reduction, cost reduction, improved decision making, risk reduction, and other key operational efficiency improvements. This role reports to the Director of Enterprise Applications.

This is a full-time, exempt position located in our El Segundo headquarters.

• 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.

• 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.

• Salesforce administration or development experience (Flows or Lightning).
• Experience with HRIS platforms (Workday, Bamboo
  
  HR, 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.
• ITIL, PMP, or Lean Six Sigma certification.

• Applications Engineer - General: $110,000 - $130,000
• Leveling and base salary are determined by job-related skills, education level, experience level, and job performance.
• You will be…