SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Salary: USD 110,000 - 160,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries is seeking a Test Equipment Development Engineer to own the full lifecycle of interceptor test systems—from requirements analysis and qualification strategy through physical design, hardware build, and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) deployment.
This is a hands-on design-build-deploy role spanning development benches, qualification fixtures, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems, and production acceptance stations. You will ensure test systems provide rigorous requirements verification while being physically robust, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with production rate targets.
Key Responsibilities:
• Test Requirements & Architecture: 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, and fault-injection 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, and test racks. Generate full technical data packages: schematics, wiring diagrams, harness drawings, mechanical CAD models, and assembly documentation. Select and integrate instrumentation (DAQ, power supplies, RF equipment, environmental interfaces). Design safe high-voltage, high-current, and energetics-compatible test interfaces.
• Hands-On Build & Integration: Lead and directly support rack assembly, panel wiring, harness fabrication, fixture assembly, and hardware bring-up. Conduct bench-level integration of hardware and automation software. Debug electrical, mechanical, and software integration issues. Validate signal integrity, power distribution, and system stability. Expected to be present at the bench and on the floor during integration.
• Automated Test & Production Deployment: Develop automated test software (LabVIEW, Python, C++, etc.). Architect production test stations optimized for throughput, repeatability, operator simplicity, and error-proofing. Define takt-aligned test cycle times. Integrate STE into MES for data capture and traceability. Lead factory installation and commissioning of LRIP test stations. Drive rapid iteration during pilot and early production builds.
• Qualification & Environmental Test Support: Design and build fixtures and instrumentation for vibration, thermal, shock, and EMI/EMC testing. 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. Plan replication of test stations as rate increases.
COMPANY CONTEXT:
CHAOS Industries, founded in 2022, has raised $1 billion in funding from 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company redefines modern defense with a multi-product portfolio powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London. 450+ employees.
REQUIREMENTS:
Minimum:
• 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:
• 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
