Varda Space Industries
Varda Space Industries builds infrastructure for manufacturing products in space, including pharmaceuticals and fiber optics, and has raised $603M. The company employs 269 people, primarily engineers, and has attracted talent from SpaceX and NASA.
The growth story
Varda Space Industries grew from 26 to 269 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $603M along the way, most recently a Series D in February 2026.
About
Varda develops systems for manufacturing products in space that cannot be made on Earth, such as pharmaceuticals and fiber optics. Its technology includes in-orbit processing and reentry capsules for returning products to Earth.
The company has raised $603M, including a Series D round in February 2026, and employs 269 people. Its workforce is heavily engineering-focused, with 86 engineers, and draws significant talent from SpaceX and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Founders and leadership
Varda is led by a team with deep space industry expertise, with engineering as its largest function, comprising 86 employees. The company has a median tenure of 1 year, indicating rapid growth and turnover.
The Varda Space Industries org chart
Will Bruey (Chief Executive Officer) leads 57 mapped leaders with 7 direct reports. Click +N to expand a team; names link to the person’s public profile.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 126 (+57% YoY), Operations 23 (+44% YoY), Information Technology 21 (+163% YoY), Research 15 (+114% YoY), Human Resources 15 (+50% YoY), Entrepreneurship 13 (+8% YoY).
Talent flow
Varda's workforce is heavily sourced from SpaceX (57 hires) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (14 hires). Alumni frequently move to other space companies like SpaceX, Vast, and Relativity Space.
Most common previous employers of Varda Space Industries staff: SpaceX (57), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (14), ABL Space (12), Blue Origin (11), Northrop Grumman (9), Yellow Jacket Space Program (7). Former Varda Space Industries employees most often moved to SpaceX (9), Vast (4), Relativity Space (4), Anduril Industries (3), K2 Space (3), Blue Origin (3).
Alumni worth knowing
The Varda Space Industries mafia
Varda alumni have founded 8 companies, including The American Housing, General Galactic, and Kaigo Health (YC F25). These startups span industries from housing to robotics and healthcare.
8Harris Rothaermel, was Flight Software Intern until 2022Luke Neise, was GNC Engineer until 2022Peter Chien, was Mechanical Engineer until 2022Saumit Kale, was Software Engineer Intern until 2025Eric Zhou, was Spacecraft Engineering Intern until 2024Ken Condon, was Director of Hardware Development until 2026
Peter Dohm, was Principal RF Engineer until 2024
Rishi C., was Software Engineer until 2025Hiring now
Web traffic
Traffic mix: 24% direct, 49% search, 8% social, 0% paid.
What this company is made of
Most common skills at Varda Space Industries: MATLAB (86), Python (Programming Language) (85), Leadership (78), Project Management (75), Microsoft Office (74), Microsoft Excel (62), SOLIDWORKS (59), Research Skills (58).
Where the team actually sits
Varda Space Industries people are concentrated in California, United States (104), Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (36), United States (15), Washington, United States (8).
Search footprint
Varda Space Industries attracts about 498 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $3K a month if bought through ads. It gained 38 ranking keywords and lost 20 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 4.30 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 4.90 / 5
- Senior management
- 4.60 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 4.00 / 5
Frequently asked
Varda Space Industries has 269 employees as of September 2026.
Varda Space Industries has raised $603M in total, most recently a Series D round in February 2026.
Varda Space Industries was founded in 2021 by Delian Asparouhov.
Will Bruey (Chief Executive Officer) sits at the top of Varda Space Industries's reporting structure, with 7 direct reports.
The most common previous employers of current Varda Space Industries staff are SpaceX (57 people), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (14 people), ABL Space (12 people).
Former Varda Space Industries employees most often move to SpaceX (9), Vast (4), Relativity Space (4).
At least 8 companies have a founder who previously worked at Varda Space Industries, including The American Housing, General Galactic, Kaigo Health (YC F25).
Varda Space Industries attracts about 498 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $3K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Varda Space Industries staff are MATLAB, Python (Programming Language), Leadership, Project Management, Microsoft Office.
Varda Space Industries staff are concentrated in California, United States (104), Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (36), United States (15).
Varda Space Industries has about 126 people in Engineering, up 57% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Varda Space Industries has about 23 people in Operations, up 44% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 199 current and 121 former Varda Space Industries profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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