Principal Mechanical Engineer

CHAOS Industries•El Segundo, CA

23h•$233,000 - $292,000•Onsite

About The Position

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with omniscient systems purpose-built for today’s realities. Designed and built by top U.S. military veterans and Silicon Valley innovators, CHAOS Industries’ 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. In a world where technological threats move at unprecedented speed, CHAOS Industries delivers advanced sensing and detection solutions that give the ultimate advantage: time. CHAOS is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to serve as a technical authority for the hands-on design, development, packaging, integration, and qualification of ruggedized sensor systems, avionics, electronic hardware, and related mission-critical systems for dual-use aerospace and defense applications. This role establishes mechanical direction across programs, resolves complex design and integration challenges, and promotes technical excellence from concept development and architecture through detailed design, analysis, prototyping, qualification, production, fielding, and sustainment. The ideal candidate brings deep hands-on mechanical design and CAD expertise, strong experience with complex assemblies, packaging, and integrated systems, demonstrated prototyping and analysis skills, and the ability to provide mechanical leadership within cross-disciplinary teams spanning mechanical, electrical, RF, power, manufacturing, and systems engineering. This is a full-time, on-site position in El Segundo, CA.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
12+ years of progressively responsible experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware for aerospace, defense, or similar applications
Expert proficiency with mechanical CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks or equivalent) and experience producing production-ready drawings
Strong understanding of 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 hardware and environmental qualification considerations
Experience interpreting and applying applicable military and aerospace standards, including MIL-STD-810 and related qualification requirements
Proven ability to lead technical decisions and resolve complex, cross-disciplinary integration challenges
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively across multiple programs
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 mechanical technical authority 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 mechanisms, actuation systems, structures, thermal management, packaging, cable routing, connector layouts, or electromechanical integration
Experience with prototyping, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, fabrication, assembly, and production transition
Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools, such as NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, COMSOL, or similar tools
Familiarity with military and aerospace standards and specifications

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, packaging, and mechanical integration of ruggedized electronic hardware, sensor systems, avionics, structures, mechanisms, and related support equipment
Serve as the final mechanical technical authority for major programs for products
Define and review mechanical architectures, interfaces, and design approaches to support cross-disciplinary system integration
Provide resolution to the organization’s high-risk or ambiguous mechanical problems
Create, review, and maintain CAD models, complex assemblies, drawings, installation documentation, and ICDs
Perform or guide structural and thermal analyses and design verification activities to support design decisions and verify compliance with environmental and performance requirements
Work directly with engineering, manufacturing, customers, suppliers, and platform providers to resolve cross-disciplinary technical challenges
Evaluate make/buy options and make associated technical recommendations in collaboration with manufacturing partners
Support production transition, configuration control, and fielded system sustainment, including investigation and resolution of integration issues
Provide technical and career mentoring to less-experienced engineers and designers and promote engineering methods, processes, and best practices
Establish engineering process/methods/standards/best practices