Varda Salary

💰 $145K–$200K salary range

Median: $170K  ·  Based on 107 public Varda job postings  ·  Updated June 9, 2026

This Varda salary benchmark is built from public job postings — no private placement data. Figures reflect base salary only (equity is separate) and are refreshed as new postings are collected.

📊 Salary breakdown

Highest-paying open roles at Varda

• Principal Avionics Hardware Development Engineer — $225K–$275K · Spacecraft Engineering
• Director, Mechanisms Engineering - Pharmaceutical Payloads — $200K–$250K · Payload & Mechanisms
• Director of Avionics Hardware Development — $193K–$246K · Spacecraft Engineering
• Principal Guidance, Navigation, and Controls Engineer — $200K–$230K · Autonomous Systems
• Director of CMC — $200K–$230K · Product
• Software Engineering Manager — $170K–$250K · Spacecraft Engineering

Varda salary by department

• Terrestrial Hardware: $216K median (5 roles)
• Payload & Mechanisms: $205K median (6 roles)
• Mission Management: $200K median (3 roles)
• Autonomous Systems: $190K median (27 roles)
• HR & Recruiting: $190K median (5 roles)
• Product: $180K median (8 roles)
• Propulsion: $175K median (5 roles)
• Spacecraft Engineering: $170K median (24 roles)

Varda salary by seniority

• Mid: $145K median (49)
• Senior: $185K median (38)
• Staff: $226K median (8)
• Manager: $169K median (11)
• Director: $224K median (7)

Remote work at Varda

0% of Varda's disclosed-pay roles are remote-friendly.

What Varda looks for

Most-required skills across these postings: Python (23) · Dbt (6) · CI/CD (6) · Snowflake (4) · Databricks (4) · Rust (3) · Redshift (3) · AWS (3) · JavaScript (3) · Azure (1).

Benefits & perks at Varda

Commonly listed: medical (60) · dental (60) · 401k (60) · unlimited-pto (60) · pto (60) · parental (60).

About Varda

Varda is Series C stage · 101–250 employees · founded 2021 · HQ El Segundo, California. This context shapes pay: later-stage, well-funded companies tend to anchor base salary higher.

Experience & background at Varda

Roles typically ask for around 5 years of experience (up to 10+ for the most senior). Most postings don't state a degree requirement; of the 77 that do, Bachelor's and Master's and PhD are most common.

Base salary vs. total compensation

The figures on this page are base salary only. Equity is a separate — and often large — component of total compensation, especially at high-growth and AI-native companies; 53% of these postings reference equity (options). Equity is not included in the medians above.

Varda total compensation signals

Beyond base salary, postings indicate: common structures: salaried. Bonus, commission, and equity vary by role and are not included in the base medians above.

Varda hiring activity

Varda has 75 open roles right now, and this benchmark draws on 113 public job postings with disclosed pay. 74 of these roles were first seen in the last 30 days (113 in the last 90).

💼 Similar companies hiring

Compare Varda's pay with other Series C companies:

• K2 Space — median $180K
• Mercor — median $300K
• Engine — median $170K
• Hadrian — median $210K
• Owner — median $220K
• Ripple — median $170K

Browse all company salary pages →

Common questions

What does Varda pay?
The median base salary is $170K, with a typical range of $150K–$200K, based on 113 public job postings (2025–2026). Base only — equity is separate.

What is the highest-paying job at Varda?
One of the highest-paying open roles is Principal Avionics Hardware Development Engineer, at $225K–$275K base.

Which team pays the most at Varda?
The Terrestrial Hardware team, at a $216K median.

Where does this data come from?
Public job postings on company career pages and public job boards — no private placement or client data.

Methodology

USD base salary aggregated from 113 public Varda job postings (2025–2026). Range = 25th–75th percentile; median = 50th percentile. Roles, departments, skills, and experience are parsed from the postings. Base salary only — equity excluded. Last refreshed June 10, 2026.

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