Flight Software Internship

About This Role

• Spring internships will range between January and May.
• Internships are full-time and on-site in Los Angeles, CA.
• Candidates must be actively enrolled in an accredited undergraduate or graduate degree program.
• As a Software Engineering Intern, you will contribute to software across ground systems, flight and embedded software, testing and simulation, and developer platform and infrastructure.
• You will help build tools and services for monitoring, commanding, and analyzing spacecraft, strengthen testing and simulation capabilities, and improve reliability and observability for mission-critical operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Use first‑principles reasoning to approach problems and justify design tradeoffs.
• Build Python and/or C++ tools, services, and libraries that interface with flight and ground systems, emphasizing correctness, determinism, and observability.
• Contribute to automation for simulation, hardware‑in‑the‑loop, and scenario‑based testing.
• Debug issues across abstraction boundaries, including OS behavior, networking, timing, and hardware‑software interactions.
• Collaborate across flight software, embedded systems, mission operations, and test teams; communicate clearly, ask clarifying questions early, and seek support when needed.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Proficiency in C++.
• Experience working with embedded systems or microcontrollers (not limited to Arduino).
• Understanding of core computer science fundamentals including data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
• Ability to debug complex software issues and comfort working in Linux environments.
• Familiarity with systems fundamentals including concurrency, networking, performance, and reliability.
• Exposure to real‑time embedded development or safety‑critical software.
• Working knowledge of math and physics.

Qualifications

• Relevant Coursework:
• Computer Architecture
• Operating Systems
• Software Engineering / Computer Science Fundamentals
• Data Structures & Algorithms
• (Bonus) Signals and Systems
• (Bonus) Digital Design, Assembly, Embedded Systems, Electronics
• Experience may come from coursework, personal projects, community college, bootcamps, open‑source contributions, internships, or self‑driven learning.
• Participation in any project work (e.g., robotics, rocketry, capstone projects, personal builds, lab work, or open‑source contributions).

Compensation

• Hourly Rate: $37.00
• Housing stipend for interns relocating to the area.
• Commuter benefit to support local transportation.

Benefits for Interns

• Health & Wellness
• Paid observed holidays
• 100% company‑paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance plans for employees and dependents with FSA and employer‑matched HSA options.
• $120/month wellness reimbursement for gym and fitness expenses.
• Sponsored One Medical memberships for employees and their dependents.
• Financial
• $20/pay period cell phone reimbursement.
• Up to $4,000 gross up in relocation support, if eligible.
• Up to $850 commute credit through Lyft or car rental reimbursement, if eligible.
• Workplace Experience & Perks
• Fully stocked kitchen with lunch provided daily and dinner provided twice weekly.
• Company and team‑bonding events, happy hours and mission‑success celebrations.
• Complimentary EV charging.

ITAR Requirements

• Varda hires only “U.S. persons” who are permitted to have access to export-controlled items without an export license.
• “US person” means: U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum).