Principal Mechanical Engineer

• CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators
• border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly
• stay ahead of evolving threats.
• CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel
• Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle
• London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com .
• Role Overview:
• CHAOS is seeking a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to lead the mechanical design, integration
• qualification of electronic hardware and enclosures for aerospace and defense applications. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on mechanical design expertise, strong CAD and packaging experience
• a proven ability to independently lead cross-disciplinary technical efforts spanning mechanical, electrical, RF, power
• This is a full-time, on-site position in El Segundo, CA

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of ruggedized electronic hardware and enclosures, including chassis, card-level packaging, mounting features
• thermal solutions, in accordance with program requirements and applicable standards
• Own mechanical design responsibility for a subsystem or product area, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements and program constraints
• Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies, detailed drawings, and interface control documentation (ICDs), ensuring production-ready quality and configuration control
• Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses to support design decisions and verify compliance with environmental and performance requirements
• Drive cross-disciplinary technical resolution involving mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering teams
• Serve as a key technical interface with suppliers and manufacturing partners
• Perform make/buy assessments with manufacturing partners as required
• Support production transition, configuration control, and fielded system sustainment, including investigation and resolution of integration issues
• Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware for aerospace, defense, or similar applications
• Strong proficiency with mechanical CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks or equivalent) and experience producing production-ready drawings
• Expertise in mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Familiarity with military and aerospace connectors (e.g., MIL-DTL-38999, ARINC, Micro-D)
• Strong understanding of mechanical drafting standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration-controlled documentation
• Demonstrated experience with ruggedized military hardware and environmental qualification considerations
• Experience interpreting and applying military standards, such as MIL-STD-810 and related platform qualification requirements
• Proven ability to lead technical decisions and resolve complex integration challenges
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, multi-disciplinary development environments
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance
• Preferred Requirements:
• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
• Prior experience serving as a lead mechanical engineer on a program
• Experience with system-level requirements allocation and architecture trade studies
• Experience supporting environmental qualification testing and analysis (thermal cycling, vibration, shock)
• Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools (e.g., NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, CFD codes, COMSOL, etc.)
• Familiarity with military and aerospace standards and specifications
• Experience supporting cable harness routing, connector layouts, and electromechanical integration
• Experience supporting prototype fabrication, assembly, and transition to production
• 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: 250 employees and counting across 5 global offices
• $170k-240k
• The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity
• 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.
• Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.
• #LI-onsite