Software Engineer - Data Engineering

Location: Hawthorne, California, United States

Department: Engineering

CHAOS builds distributed sensor networks that detect threats to warfighters, borders, and critical infrastructure faster than any system in the world. Our Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™) technology fuses data from radars, EO/IR sensors, and electronic warfare systems across land, sea, and air-operating as one unified sensing platform.

Role Overview
We're looking for a Software Engineer to build the data systems that make this possible. You'll design pipelines that move sensor data from the edge to decision-makers in real time, integrate feeds from dozens of heterogeneous sources, and create the data infrastructure that powers products like Vanquish™. This isn't abstract data work - every pipeline you build directly enables faster threat detection and better outcomes for defenders in the field.
You'll work across teams with hardware engineers, systems engineers, and operators to understand what data matters and how to get it where it needs to go. As we scale, you'll help shape the architecture of the CHAOS Operating System - a unified data backbone connecting engineering, operations, and manufacturing.

Responsibilities
• Design and build data pipelines that ingest, transform, and deliver sensor and operational data in real time
• Integrate data from diverse sources - radars, sensors, enterprise systems - into unified, queryable formats
• Build and maintain data infrastructure including real-time streaming, batch processing, and storage systems
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and software engineers to ensure data flows support mission-critical workflows
• Monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize pipeline performance for reliability and low latency
• Contribute to architectural decisions as the data platform evolves
• Work 3+ days per week from our San Francisco or Los Angeles office

Minimum Requirements
• 1-2 years of experience in software development, data engineering, or a related field
• Proficiency in Python and SQL
• Experience building or maintaining data pipelines, ETL workflows, or backend data services
• Familiarity with data modeling concepts and working with structured/unstructured data
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to debug complex data issues

Preferred Requirements
• Experience with real-time data processing or streaming technologies (Kafka, Spark Streaming, Flink)
• Familiarity with Palantir Foundry or similar enterprise data platforms
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, GCP)
• Background in defense, aerospace, or sensor systems (radar, EO/IR, EW)
• Experience with containerization (Docker) and orchestration (Kubernetes)
• Familiarity with data warehousing solutions and NoSQL databases

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 200 employees and counting across 5 global offices

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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