CAREERS
Careers at Viridian Space Corporation
Viridian Space Corporation is an early-stage, space technology start-up located in El Segundo (Los Angeles), California. Viridian’s mission is to commercialize a new generation of agile, refuellable satellites and to unlock commercial access to Very Low Earth Orbits, far below where traditional Low Earth Orbit satellites fly. We are looking for energetic and talented people to join our team to support hardware prototyping, culminating in the flight of our novel plasma propulsion system.
All postings are for full-time on-site positions only (we are building hardware, can’t do that remotely).
We generally offer the following benefits:
- 401(k)
- Medical, Dental, Vision
- Paid unlimited vacation
- Employee equity options
Important Note
We do really cool stuff, so these position require obtaining and maintaining DoD Secret clearance. Jobs restricted by these regulations are contingent upon the applicant’s status as a documented U.S. Person and good standing with the law.
Open Roles
Director of Business Development
The Role
As the Director of Business Development, you will own our growth engine. You will project our technical advantages in propulsion, reusability, and low-altitude operations into winning programs. This role bridges two distinct domains: navigating the complex defense acquisition landscape (DoD, USSF, SDA, DIU) and building relationships with commercial constellations, launch providers, and tier-1 primes. This is a highly autonomous role requiring a mix of strategic vision, technical fluency, and hands-on execution—from hunting down commercial leads to writing winning federal proposals.
Key Responsibilities
- Defense Capture & Network Building: Navigate the DoD, U.S. Space Force (USSF), Space Development Agency (SDA), DIU, and AFRL networks to cultivate relationships, identify mission requirements for VLEO/maneuver warfare, and secure program line items.
- Proposal & SBIR/STTR Ownership: Own the end-to-end capture, technical storytelling, and proposal writing process for government solicitations, including SBIR/STTR (Phase I, II, and III), STRATFI/TACFI, OTAs, and Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs).
- Commercial Pipeline Development: Identify, pursue, and close commercial hardware sales and technology integrations with satellite operators, megaconstellation developers, and launch providers seeking advanced propulsion solutions.
- Strategic Positioning: Translate complex propulsion specs and VLEO mission benefits (e.g., lower latency, higher resolution, maneuverability on demand) into high-impact pitches, white papers, and capability statements.
Requirements & Qualifications
- Experience: 5+ years of business development, capture management, or technical sales experience within the aerospace, defense, or deep-tech startup sectors.
- Proposal Mastery: Proven track record of personally writing, managing, and winning DoD contracts and non-dilutive funding mechanisms (specifically Phase II/III SBIRs, BAAs, or OTAs).
- Technical Fluency: Foundational understanding of space systems, satellite architectures, and spacecraft propulsion. Experience explaining the unique operational economics of VLEO or reusable hardware is highly valued.
Contact us at jobs@viridianspace.com
Electric Propulsion Engineer
The Role
Here is what we expect an Electric Propulsion (EP) Engineer to do in the first year at the company (please don’t apply if you don’t feel comfortable doing any of these tasks):
- Redesign our early Hall Effect Thruster prototype
- Build the new version of the thruster that can run on air and test it in a third-party vacuum chamber
- Achieve performance necessary performance metrics (thrust, isp, efficiency, lifetime)
- Perform rapid iteration to create a flight qualified version of the thruster
- Work with our Electrical Engineer on the design and test of the Power Processing Unit (PPU)
- Work with our Electromechanical Engineer on the design and test of the Flow Control System (FCS)
Essential skills
- You should know how to build and test a Hall thruster
- Understanding thruster failure modes
- Experience building flight hardware
You must be very good at
- Plasma Physics
- Magnetic field simulator software
- Material science
- Designing and building flight hardware
- Python
- Solidworks
You will love this job if
- You are a tinkerer
- You love making things with your hands
- You have self-motivation to drive forward improvements as you see fit
- You enjoy working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
- You love finding solutions to problems
- You pay close attention to details
Contact us at jobs@viridianspace.com
RF Plasma Engineer
The Role
Here is what we expect an RF Plasma Engineer to do in the first year at the company (please don’t apply if you don’t feel comfortable doing any of these tasks):
- Design, create and test an RF plasma source
- Optimize the source for operation on air
- Evolve the plasma source into an electron source (cathode), maximizing extracted current and efficiency
- Perform rapid iteration to create a flight qualified version
- Work with our Electrical Engineer on the design and test of the Control Electronics
Essential skills
- You should have hands-on experience with design/build/test of RF plasmas
- Understand RF safety
- RF plasma thruster experience is a plus
You must be very good at
- General plasma physics
- Strong foundation of plasma waves physics
- Working with RF equipment
- Designing and building flight hardware
- Python
- Solidworks
You will love this job if
- You are a tinkerer
- You love making things with your hands
- You have self-motivation to drive forward improvements as you see fit
- You enjoy working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
- You love finding solutions to problems
- You pay close attention to details
Contact us at jobs@viridianspace.com
Flight Hardware Design Engineer
The Role
Here is what we expect a Mechanical Engineer to do in the first year at the company:
- Design and CAD mechanical concepts for space-flight components, such as deployment mechanisms, launch latches, etc.
- Demonstrate concept designs can survive launch loads in simulation
- Build and test the designed components, including qualification campaigns
- Support, design, and build of test-jigs for non-flight components
Essential skills
- SolidWorks
- GD&T
- Design for Flight
- FEA or similar analysis tools
Other skills that may be helpful
- Hands-on experience with flight hardware
- Experience with lifetime analysis (strain life, random vibration analysis, etc.)
- Electrical experience
- Python or other programming languages
- Communication and presentation
You must be very good at
- Mechanical Design for Spaceflight
- SolidWorks/CAD
- Independently bringing concepts to reality
You will love this job if
- You are a tinkerer
- You love making and breaking things
- You have self-motivation to drive forward improvements
- You enjoy working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
- You love finding solutions to problems
- You pay close attention to details
Contact us at jobs@viridianspace.com
Test Engineer
The Role
Here is what we expect a Test Engineer to do in the first year at the company:
- Operate and maintain our vacuum test facility.
- Operate and maintain our plasma source.
- Develop CAD drawings of jigs, fixtures, and other ground test hardware
- Manufacture, assemble and test experimental hardware.
- Work with other members of the team on delivering flight units to our customers.
Essential skills
- Practical experience in laboratory environment, using oscilloscopes, power supplies, and/or other standard laboratory equipment.
- Basic understanding of vacuum systems.
- Experience manufacturing experimental hardware.
- Ability to design and build basic electrical and mechanical systems.
- Knowledge of Python and ability to create hardware-software interfaces using RS232, RS485 and Ethernet protocols.
- Experience with CAD (SolidWorks, FreeCAD, etc)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Other skills that may be helpful
- Practical experience with vacuum systems and vacuum components.
- Experience with electrical power systems.
- Experience with satellite hardware.
- Experience with propulsion hardware.
You must be very good at
- Maintaining an organized test environment
- Automation of test environments
You will love this job if
- You are a tinkerer
- You love making and breaking things
- You have self-motivation to drive forward improvements
- You enjoy working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment
- You love finding solutions to problems
- You pay close attention to details
Contact us at jobs@viridianspace.com
Don’t see a role ideal for you but want to join our team?
Tell us a bit about yourself and send your resume to us at jobs@viridianspace.com
