Principal Mechanical Engineer

CHAOS Industries•Hawthorne, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

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, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and 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, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com . Role Overview: CHAOS is seeking a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to lead the mechanical design, integration, and qualification of electronic hardware and enclosures for aerospace and defense applications. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on mechanical design expertise, strong CAD and packaging experience, and a proven ability to independently lead cross-disciplinary technical efforts spanning mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering. This is a full-time, on-site position in Hawthorne, CA.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
10+ 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 (e.g., SolidWorks or equivalent) and experience producing production-ready drawings
Expertise in mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and interface control documents (ICDs)
Familiarity with military and aerospace connectors (e.g., MIL-DTL-38999, ARINC, Micro-D)
Strong understanding of mechanical drafting standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration-controlled documentation
Demonstrated experience with ruggedized military hardware and environmental qualification considerations
Experience interpreting and applying military standards, such as MIL-STD-810 and related platform qualification requirements
Proven ability to lead technical decisions and resolve complex integration challenges
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, multi-disciplinary development environments
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
Prior experience serving as a lead mechanical engineer on a program
Experience with system-level requirements allocation and architecture trade studies
Experience supporting environmental qualification testing and analysis (thermal cycling, vibration, shock)
Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools (e.g., NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, CFD codes, COMSOL, etc.)
Familiarity with military and aerospace standards and specifications
Experience supporting cable harness routing, connector layouts, and electromechanical integration
Experience supporting prototype fabrication, assembly, and transition to production

Responsibilities

Lead the design and development of ruggedized electronic hardware and enclosures, including chassis, card-level packaging, mounting features, and thermal solutions, in accordance with program requirements and applicable standards
Own mechanical design responsibility for a subsystem or product area, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements and program constraints
Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies, detailed drawings, and interface control documentation (ICDs), ensuring production-ready quality and configuration control
Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses to support design decisions and verify compliance with environmental and performance requirements
Drive cross-disciplinary technical resolution involving mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering teams
Serve as a key technical interface with suppliers and manufacturing partners
Perform make/buy assessments with manufacturing partners as required
Support production transition, configuration control, and fielded system sustainment, including investigation and resolution of integration issues