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Salary: USD 145,000 - 180,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries, a defense technology company founded in 2022 and backed by $1B in funding from 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners, is seeking a Head of Real Estate to own the company's real estate strategy and portfolio end-to-end. The company develops Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™) technology for warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams, with offices across Los Angeles, Washington D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London.
In this strategic leadership role, you will own CHAOS's real estate portfolio strategy across a rapidly scaling, multi-site manufacturing, lab, and office footprint in the U.S. and internationally. You will forecast space needs against headcount, program, and manufacturing growth plans, and translate them into a multi-year site plan. Key responsibilities include leading site selection (market analysis, test-fit studies, lease vs. buy vs. build analysis) for new domestic and international locations; negotiating and executing leases, purchases, subleases, renewals, and terminations; and managing brokers, landlords, and outside real estate counsel through the full transaction lifecycle.
You will partner closely with Finance, Legal, Security/Export Control, and Facilities and Workplace teams to ensure every site decision supports growth, program requirements, employee experience, and compliance obligations. You'll own real estate due diligence for new sites and acquisitions, coordinate with Facilities on physical condition assessments and buildout scope, and build and manage the real estate capital and operating budget across the portfolio. You will develop and maintain a real estate playbook (templates, standard lease terms, site evaluation criteria, approval workflows) to support consistent, fast decision-making as the company scales, and maintain a real estate portfolio database as a single source of truth. You'll present portfolio strategy, transaction recommendations, and budget updates to executive leadership and the board as needed.
This is a highly cross-functional role requiring close partnership with Legal, Finance, and Security/Export Control early in site selection and transaction structuring to flag jurisdictional, tax, and export control/ITAR considerations, especially for international and defense-program-adjacent sites.
**Requirements:**
- 10+ years of experience in corporate real estate, real estate transactions, or brokerage, including direct responsibility for lease/purchase negotiation and portfolio strategy
- Demonstrated experience managing a multi-site portfolio across several markets, including sites supporting industrial, manufacturing, lab, or office uses
- Strong command of lease economics, deal structuring, and real estate financial modeling (NPV/IRR of lease vs. buy, total cost of occupancy, etc.)
- Experience managing outside brokers and real estate counsel, and negotiating directly with landlords/sellers
- Ability to operate with significant autonomy in a fast-scaling environment with evolving process and limited existing infrastructure
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including comfort presenting to executive leadership
- Willingness to travel domestically and internationally as the portfolio requires
**Preferred Requirements:**
- Experience with real estate in defense, government, or other regulated/secure-facility environments
- Familiarity with export control considerations (ITAR/EAR) affecting international site selection and facility access
- Experience sourcing and standing up international sites, including familiarity with local market practices and labor/real estate regulations
- Experience supporting M&A real estate diligence (lease assumption, assignment, and integration planning)
- Background partnering closely with, or directly managing, a Facilities and Workplace organization
- Eligibility for a U.S. government security clearance
