Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer

CHAOS Industries • Hawthorne, CA

3h • $205,000 - $250,000 • Onsite

About The Position

CHAOS is seeking a Senior Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to serve as the technical authority for the design, integration, and qualification of electronic hardware and enclosures for aerospace and defense applications. This role is responsible for setting mechanical direction across programs, solving complex design challenges, and ensuring technical excellence from concept through qualification, production, and sustainment.
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
• 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
• 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, 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 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

Responsibilities

• Architect and design ruggedized electronic hardware and enclosures, including chassis, card-level packaging, mounting features, and thermal solutions, in accordance with program requirements and applicable standards
• Define and maintain mechanical architectures, interfaces, and design approaches to support multi-disciplinary system integration.
• Develop and oversee 3D CAD models, assemblies, 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
• Perform and/or review first-order structural and thermal analyses to support design decisions and verify compliance with environmental and performance requirements
• Lead cross-disciplinary technical resolution involving mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering teams
• Serve as a primary technical hardware interface with customers, platform providers, 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

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior