Commercial Counsel

• 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 looking for a practical, sharp attorney whose primary focus is commercial transactions, with a substantial secondary responsibility supporting People Operations. The core of this role is driving the commercial agreement lifecycle: customer contracts, vendor and supplier agreements, supply chain partnerships
• technology transactions across a hardware-forward defense portfolio where the regulatory and IP stakes are real. You will also serve as the principal day-to-day legal partner to our People Operations team on the full range of employment and labor matters.
• This is a high-visibility role with genuine ownership. You will work directly with Business Development, Supply Chain, Finance
• People Operations to close deals, manage risk
• build the scalable legal infrastructure CHAOS needs to grow. If you are a commercial attorney who wants broad cross-functional exposure and the ability to build from scratch in a defense tech environment, this is the role

Responsibilities

• Commercial Transactions (Primary Focus)
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements across the full transaction lifecycle: customer contracts, MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, vendor and supplier agreements, and strategic partnership arrangements.
• Advise on FAR/DFARS flowdown implications, data rights, IP protections, cybersecurity obligations, and export control compliance (ITAR/EAR) as they surface in commercial and supply chain agreements.
• Partner with Supply Chain and Operations to structure and close procurement, manufacturing, and hardware-development agreements, with a focus on identifying and allocating contractual and operational risk.
• Build and maintain scalable commercial legal infrastructure: contract templates, standard fallback positions, approval workflows, and practical guidance that lets business teams move fast without creating legal exposure.
• Employment and Labor Advisory (Secondary Focus)
• Serve as the primary in-house legal partner to People Operations across the full range of employment matters: employee relations, wage and hour compliance, workplace policy, internal investigations, performance management, and separations.
• Manage outside counsel and leverage as needed.
• Structure, draft, and negotiate independent contractor, consultant, and staffing agreements. Own worker classification compliance as the company scales its contingent workforce.
• Advise on multi-state employment law requirements as CHAOS expands headcount across jurisdictions.
• Build and maintain employee handbooks, HR compliance frameworks, and scalable HR legal processes from scratch.
• Minimum Requirements:
• J.D. from an accredited law school; active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state.
• 4+ years of relevant legal experience with a strong transactional foundation as the primary credential.
• Demonstrated ability to independently draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements: customer contracts, vendor agreements, MSAs, SOWs, subcontracts, or technology licenses.
• Working familiarity with U.S. government contracting implications on commercial terms, including FAR/DFARS flowdowns, data rights, and export control compliance (ITAR/EAR).
• Exceptional drafting and negotiation skills, with the ability to independently manage a high volume of concurrent matters and deliver clear, risk-calibrated guidance in a fast-moving environment.
• S. Person status required; this role involves access to information and technology subject to U.S. export controls.
• Preferred Requirements:
• Prior in-house experience at a defense, aerospace, hardware, robotics, AI, or other regulated technology company.
• Experience advising on technical data rights, software rights, data-use restrictions, or cybersecurity compliance in defense or government technology programs.
• Experience with employment matters a plus
• Track record building commercial contracting playbooks, HR compliance frameworks, and legal templates from scratch for a scaling organization.
• Active U.S. security clearance or the eligibility and willingness to obtain one.
• 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
• 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