SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Salary: USD 167,000 - 209,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries is seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead hands-on design, development, packaging, integration, and qualification of ruggedized sensor systems, avionics, electronic hardware, and mission-critical systems for dual-use aerospace and defense applications.
You will own the mechanical design and integration of defined subsystems, product areas, or major assemblies across the full product lifecycle—from concept development and architecture through detailed design, analysis, prototyping, qualification testing, production, fielding, and sustainment. Design challenges span structures, enclosures, mechanisms, electromechanical hardware, thermal solutions, and support equipment deployed across land-, sea-, and air-based platforms.
Key responsibilities include:
- Perform hands-on mechanical design and integration of ruggedized electronic hardware, sensor systems, avionics, structures, mechanisms, and enclosures
- Own mechanical design and integration of defined subsystems and major assemblies
- Conduct trade studies and recommend technical paths forward
- Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies, detailed drawings, installation documentation, and interface control documents (ICDs)
- Develop mechanical designs subject to structural, thermal, environmental, manufacturability, installation, and operational requirements
- Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses, hand calculations, requirements analysis, and design verification
- Lead design reviews on owned designs
- Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, RF, power, manufacturing, systems engineering, customers, suppliers, and platform providers to resolve integration challenges
- Support system integration, qualification, fit-check, installation, alignment, troubleshooting, prototype fabrication, assembly, and production transition
- Support configuration control, make/buy evaluations, fielding, and sustainment of deployed systems
- Mentor junior engineers
CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised $1 billion in funding from leading investors including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London. The company employs 250+ people and is building a multi-product portfolio powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™) for warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams.
This is a full-time, on-site position in El Segundo, CA.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline
- 7+ 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 (SolidWorks or equivalent), including complex assemblies and detailed design
- Experience producing and reviewing production-ready mechanical drawings and documentation
- Understanding of mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and interface control documents (ICDs)
- Familiarity with military and aerospace connectors (MIL-DTL-38999, ARINC, Micro-D)
- Understanding of mechanical drafting standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration-controlled documentation
- Familiarity with structural analysis methods, including hand calculations and FEA
- Experience designing or integrating ruggedized hardware and considering applicable environmental requirements
- Experience interpreting and applying military and aerospace standards, including MIL-STD-810
- Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively in multi-disciplinary development environments
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance
**Preferred Requirements:**
- Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- Experience supporting environmental qualification testing and analysis (thermal cycling, vibration, shock)
- Experience with mechanisms, actuation systems, structures, thermal management, packaging, cable routing, connector layouts, or electromechanical integration
- Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, COMSOL, or similar)
- Experience with prototyping, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, fabrication, assembly, and production transition
- Familiarity with aerospace, defense, military, or other ruggedized hardware standards and specifications
