Senior Mechanical Design Engineer

CHAOS Inc. is a global technology company delivering next-generation capabilities to the defense and critical industrial sectors. Founded in 2022 by a seasoned leadership team, CHAOS has quickly become the place where world-class multi-disciplinary engineers come to build mission-critical technologies. CHAOS has a mission-focused culture, dedicated to solving the toughest technical challenges. Its unique agile engineering approach enables rapid prototyping, while deep partnerships with defense and industry ensure real-world solutions.

Role Overview:

We are seeking an experienced mechanical design engineer to join our dynamic team in Los Angeles. The candidate will be responsible for providing innovative design solutions for the packaging of antennas, radomes, circuit card assemblies, computing equipment, and test equipment for ground and airborne sensors. The ideal candidate will possess relevant industry experience designing ruggedized electronics hardware for military environments and be self-directed.

Responsibilities: 

• Lead the mechanical design and development of ruggedized military hardware, ensuring compliance with relevant standards and requirements
• Utilize CAD software (SolidWorks) to create detailed 3D models, drawings, and assemblies
• Support prototyping, testing, and validation of designs in laboratory and field environments
• Use hand calculations, finite element analyses (FEA), and computer-aided designs (CAD) to ensure all hardware meets or exceeds internal and customer requirements
• Lead design reviews and hardware qualifications
• Serve as technical interface with vendors, suppliers, and customers
• Work full-time onsite at our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 8+ years of experience with CAD and FEA software packages in a professional setting
• Experience designing RF, avionics, and/or embedded computing products for rugged/military environments
• Strong knowledge of industry practices, drafting standards, and drawing notes for military and commercial hardware design documentation
• Experience with designing for manufacturability
• Proficiency in Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T)
• Hands-on experience with hardware integration
• Excellent problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Willingness to work full-time onsite at our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California

Preferred Requirements:

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
• Experience with SolidWorks for designing parts and assemblies
• Experience with at least one commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation package (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, CFD codes, COMSOL, etc.)
• Experience interpreting and applying military specifications and standards (MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, and other military standards)
• Familiarity with military-style connectors (e.g mil-circular 38999, ARINC, micro-D, etc)
• Ability to design cable harness and generate electrical schematics and pin diagrams
• Experience with additive manufacturing, CNC machining, and other fabrication techniques
• Experience developing concepts for proposals and writing proposals
• Experience working with prototyping and machine shop equipment

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Your medical, dental and vision benefits will be 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: life, FSA, HSA, 401k (+ Company match), and more
• Our Perks: free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO (for exempt employees), casual dress code
• Compensation Components: competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance + (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Company Size: 100 employees and counting!
• More About Us: We're building the next generation of aerospace, defense and critical industry technologies with a seasoned team of mission-focused individuals. We were founded in June 2022 and our goal is to become the platform where world-class engineers come to solve critical, real-world problems. We use agile engineering approaches which enable rapid prototyping, deep partnerships with the defense industry ensuring real-world application, and our newly-invented Coherence platform (through which we’ve made a fundamental breakthrough) improves sensor performance and decision-making in real-time. As of September 2024 we have raised ~$240M with 8VC and Accel as leading investors. With a managing team that includes Epirus’ founding members (responsible for building a $1.5B company from scratch) + key drivers from Palantir (instrumental in Palantir’s growth to $1B in revenue), we are well-positioned to become one of the fastest growing companies to date!

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

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