Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer

CHAOS Industries•El Segundo, CA

10d•Onsite

About The Position

CHAOS is seeking a Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead the design, development, packaging, integration, and qualification of ruggedized electronic hardware, sensor systems, avionics, and related mission-critical hardware for dual-use aerospace and defense applications. The ideal candidate brings strong hands-on mechanical design and CAD expertise, experience with complex assemblies and integrated systems, demonstrated prototyping and analysis skills, and the ability to work effectively within cross-disciplinary teams spanning mechanical, electrical, RF, power, manufacturing, and systems engineering. Design challenges may include structures, enclosures, mechanisms, electromechanical hardware, thermal solutions, support equipment, and other mission-critical systems. The position spans the product lifecycle from concept development and architecture through detailed design, analysis, prototyping, qualification testing, production, and sustainment of fielded systems.

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, such as SolidWorks or equivalent, including complex assemblies and detailed design
Experience producing and reviewing production-ready mechanical drawings and documentation
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
Familiarity with structural analysis methods, including hand calculations and FEA
Demonstrated experience designing or integrating ruggedized hardware and considering applicable environmental requirements
Experience interpreting and applying military standards, such as MIL-STD-810 and related platform qualification requirements
Proven ability to make sound mechanical design decisions and resolve complex integration challenges in collaboration with cross-disciplinary teams
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 or technical authority on a program
Experience with system-level requirements allocation, architecture trade studies, and mechanical subsystem definition
Experience supporting environmental qualification testing and analysis (thermal cycling, vibration, shock)
Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools, such as NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, COMSOL, or similar tools
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 transition to production
Familiarity with aerospace, defense, military, or other ruggedized hardware 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
Own mechanical design responsibility for a subsystem, product area, or hardware integration effort, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements, mission needs, and program constraints
Develop mechanical architectures and detailed designs subject to structural, thermal, environmental, manufacturability, installation, and operational requirements
Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, large assemblies, detailed drawings, installation documentation, and interface control documents (ICDs), ensuring production-ready quality and configuration control
Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses, hand calculations, requirements analysis and allocation, and design verification activities
Provide technical guidance during system integration, qualification, acceptance, fit-check, installation, alignment, and troubleshooting activities
Serve as a key technical hardware interface with customers, suppliers, manufacturing partners, and other cross-functional stakeholders
Perform make/buy assessments and support prototype fabrication, assembly, production transition, configuration control, and fielded system sustainment
Provide technical and career mentoring to less-experienced engineers and designers