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Salary: USD 150,000 - 190,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries is a defense technology company founded in 2022 and backed by $1 billion in funding from top-tier investors including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company develops multi-product defense systems powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN), enabling warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to operate with superior situational awareness and resilience.
The Communications Systems & Spectrum Compliance Lead role is based in El Segundo, California, and serves as the single point of accountability for the technical performance and regulatory readiness of all data links that CHAOS systems depend on. This includes point-to-point RF/microwave dishes, 5G and cellular modems, Starlink and other SATCOM terminals, fiber network interconnects, MPU5 tactical radios, and customer mesh networks.
Key responsibilities include:
• Own technical performance of all communications systems connecting CHAOS devices to each other and external networks; design, test, and validate link budgets, network architecture, and failover paths for each deployment configuration.
• Conduct pre-deployment communications validation to confirm every link is functional and authorized before team travel to any site, domestically or internationally.
• Support and troubleshoot connectivity problems both in the field and remotely to enable continuous system uptime.
• Continuously evaluate emerging communications technologies—new SATCOM constellations, private 5G/O-RAN, mesh/ad hoc networking, software-defined radio, and PNT-independent communications—for applicability to coherent, distributed defense networks.
• Identify and document acceptable communications protocols, frequency bands, and licensing authorities on a country-by-country basis for every location where CHAOS conducts demonstrations or deliveries.
• Research and track national cellular band allocations, carrier requirements, roaming agreements, Starlink service availability, and mobility/roaming authorization status required for CHAOS systems to operate abroad.
• Identify host-nation spectrum management authority licensing and frequency coordination requirements, including deconfliction with military users when operating near or alongside foreign partners.
• Track national type-approval and equipment certification requirements (CE/RED, ANATEL, IFT, SRRC, WPC-ETA, NBTC, and equivalent bodies) applicable to RF hardware carried into a country.
• Coordinate with legal and export-control teams on ITAR/EAR classification, Wassenaar Arrangement dual-use controls, and national encryption import/registration requirements for radios, dishes, and modems.
• Manage customs and temporary import documentation for communications equipment; support diplomatic clearance, End User Certificate, and foreign partner government authorization requests.
• Maintain a living reference library of country-specific communications and spectrum requirements to support rapid deployment planning.
• Coordinate with program management, field engineering, and foreign partner points of contact to build complete communications plans for every demonstration and delivery.
• Interface with DoD spectrum management and frequency coordination channels for domestic and OCONUS training and test events.
• Support proposal and capture teams with technical input on communications architecture and regulatory risk for new business.
• Willing to travel 30–50% to customer, test, and partner-nation sites for deployments and mission support, both CONUS and OCONUS.
The ideal candidate is equally comfortable validating a link budget on a bench and researching a foreign ministry's spectrum licensing requirements ahead of a partner-nation demonstration. This role requires strong technical depth, regulatory knowledge, diplomatic acumen, attention to detail, and composure under deployment-timeline pressure.
**REQUIREMENTS:**
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, RF Engineering, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 7 years of experience in RF/wireless communications systems engineering, spectrum management, or telecommunications regulatory affairs.
• Hands-on experience with tactical radios (MPU5/SRW or similar), SATCOM terminals (Starlink or comparable), point-to-point RF/microwave links, and cellular/5G modem integration.
• Working knowledge of ITU Radio Regulations and how national spectrum authorities implement them.
• Familiarity with US export control regimes (ITAR, EAR) as applied to communications and RF hardware.
• Proactive technology scouting and bias toward resilient, low-single-point-of-failure network design.
**Physical & Work Requirements:**
• Work at company facilities, test ranges, and customer or partner-nation sites, including outdoor and field environments in variable weather and terrain.
• Set up, test, and troubleshoot RF and network hardware, including antennas, dishes, radios, and modems, sometimes in confined or elevated positions.
• Lift or carry up to 50 pounds with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Work early mornings, evenings, weekends, or extended deployment windows; travel for multi-day campaigns, both CONUS and OCONUS.
