Test Equipment Design Engineer - Effectors

• 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 Summary:
• We are seeking a Special Test Equipment (STE) Designer responsible for the full lifecycle of interceptor test systems — from requirements analysis and qualification strategy through physical design, hardware build
• Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) deployment.
• This role owns the realization of the interceptor test ecosystem across:
• Development benches
• Qualification fixtures
• Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems
• Production acceptance stations
• You will ensure that test systems provide rigorous requirements verification while also being physically robust, scalable, maintainable
• aligned with production rate targets. This is not solely a test planning role. It is a design–build–deploy ownership role

Responsibilities

• Test Requirements & Architecture Ownership
• Derive test equipment functional requirements from system and subsystem specifications.
• Establish traceability between interceptor requirements and test coverage.
• Define:
• Subassembly test strategies
• Qualification test configurations
• Production acceptance test philosophy
• Fault-injection and edge-case coverage approaches
• Develop interface control documents (ICDs) between product and test systems.
• Balance verification rigor with cycle time, cost, and rate considerations.
• Physical STE Design & Hardware Realization
• Design complete STE hardware systems including:
• Mechanical fixtures
• Electrical interface panels
• Breakout harnesses
• Load simulators
• Signal conditioning hardware
• Test racks and enclosures
• Generate full technical data packages:
• Schematics
• Wiring diagrams
• Harness drawings
• Mechanical CAD models
• Assembly documentation
• Select and integrate instrumentation (DAQ, power supplies, RF equipment, environmental interfaces).
• Design safe high-voltage, high-current, and energetics-compatible test interfaces as required.
• Hands-On Build & Integration
• Lead and directly support:
• Rack assembly
• Panel wiring
• Harness fabrication
• Fixture assembly
• Hardware bring-up and debug
• Conduct bench-level integration of hardware and automation software.
• Debug electrical, mechanical, and software integration issues.
• Validate signal integrity, power distribution, and system stability.
• This role is expected to be present at the bench and on the floor during integration.
• Automated Test & Production Deployment
• Develop automated test software (e.g., LabVIEW, Python, C++, etc.).
• Architect production test stations optimized for:
• Throughput
• Repeatability
• Operator simplicity
• Error-proofing
• Define takt-aligned test cycle times in coordination with Industrial Engineering.
• Integrate STE into MES for data capture and traceability.
• Lead factory installation and commissioning of LRIP test stations.
• Drive rapid iteration and refinement during pilot and early production builds.
• Qualification & Environmental Test Support
• Design and build fixtures and instrumentation for:
• Vibration
• Thermal
• Shock
• EMI/EMC
• Support qualification campaigns with robust data acquisition strategies.
• Lead root cause analysis of test anomalies.
• Update STE configurations as designs mature.
• STE Lifecycle & Rate Scaling
• Manage configuration control and revisions of test systems.
• Improve test cycle time and reliability as production scales.
• Establish maintenance, calibration, and sustainment strategies.
• Drive cost-down efforts for production-deployed test systems.
• Plan replication of test stations as rate increases.
• Minimum Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years experience designing and building custom test equipment for aerospace, defense, automotive, or high-reliability electromechanical systems.
• Demonstrated experience translating product requirements into test system architecture.
• Hands-on experience with:
• Electrical schematic design
• Wiring and panel integration
• Mechanical fixture design
• Data acquisition systems
• Instrumentation integration
• Experience debugging integrated electro-mechanical systems.
• Familiarity with root cause methodologies and failure analysis.
• U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain DoD clearance.
• Preferred Requirements:
• Experience with missile, UAV, or guided munition systems.
• Experience designing HIL systems for avionics or control systems.
• Experience deploying test stations into LRIP or production environments.
• Familiarity with:
• NI hardware platforms
• RF testing
• Actuator/servo testing
• PCBA-level test
• Experience integrating test systems with MES/PLM infrastructure.
• Experience in energetics or explosive-safe environments.
• 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
• 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