Staff Mechanical Engineer

CHAOS Industries•El Segundo, CA

7d•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 Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead the hands-on mechanical design, packaging, integration, and qualification of 3U and 6U VPX electronic cards, chassis, backplanes, and related ruggedized electronics for dual-use aerospace and defense applications. The ideal candidate brings strong mechanical design and CAD expertise, direct experience with VPX/OpenVPX packaging, and a demonstrated ability to develop production-ready hardware in collaboration with electrical, RF, thermal, manufacturing, and systems engineering teams. The position spans the product lifecycle from concept development and architecture through detailed design, analysis, prototyping, qualification testing, production, fielding, and sustainment. This requisition is open to candidates who may be considered for a lower or higher job level. Final level and grade will be determined based on relevant experience, skills, and qualifications. This is a full-time, on-site position in El Segundo, CA.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
7+ years of progressively responsible experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware for aerospace, defense, or similar applications
Demonstrated experience designing mechanical packaging for 3U and 6U VPX or OpenVPX cards, chassis, card cages, or related systems
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 using GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration-controlled documentation
Experience with VPX connectors, backplanes, card guides, wedgelocks, front panels, alignment features, and card-retention methods
Working knowledge of applicable VITA and OpenVPX standards, such as VITA 46, VITA 47, VITA 48, and VITA 65
Understanding of mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and connector integration
Familiarity with structural and thermal analysis methods, including hand calculations and FEA
Demonstrated experience designing or integrating ruggedized hardware for shock, vibration, thermal, and other environmental requirements
Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work effectively across mechanical, electrical, RF, thermal, manufacturing, and systems engineering teams
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
Experience with VITA 46, VITA 47, VITA 48, VITA 65, or related OpenVPX specifications and system profiles
Experience designing conduction-cooled, air-flow-through, or liquid-cooled VPX packaging
Experience with thermal interface materials, heat frames, heat spreaders, cold plates, heat exchangers, or other electronics cooling solutions
Experience with EMI/EMC shielding, gasketing, grounding, environmental sealing, and connector backshells
Experience with commercial FEA or thermal simulation tools, such as ANSYS, NASTRAN, ABAQUS, COMSOL, or similar tools
Experience with machined, sheet-metal, cast, extruded, or additive-manufactured chassis and electronic packaging
Experience supporting cable harness routing, connector layouts, electromechanical integration, and production transition
Experience supporting environmental qualification testing, including thermal cycling, vibration, shock, and ingress protection
Working knowledge of VME/VMEbus open-architecture electronics, including card-level packaging, backplanes, chassis, connectors, or migration to VPX/OpenVPX architectures

Responsibilities

Lead the hands-on mechanical design and packaging of 3U and 6U VPX cards, chassis, card cages, backplanes, and related electronic assemblies
Develop mechanical architectures, interfaces, card-cage layouts, mounting schemes, thermal interfaces, and design approaches for VPX-based systems
Design and integrate VPX mechanical features, including card guides, wedgelocks, module retainers, front panels, ejectors, alignment features, backshells, and chassis interfaces
Create, review, and maintain 3D CAD models, complex assemblies, production drawings, installation documentation, and interface control documents (ICDs)
Apply OpenVPX and applicable VITA standards to mechanical packaging, connector alignment, slot spacing, backplane interfaces, environmental requirements, and system integration
Perform or support structural and thermal analyses, hand calculations, tolerance analyses, and design verification activities
Develop mechanical solutions for conduction cooling, air-flow-through cooling, liquid cooling, thermal interface materials, and heat rejection as required
Collaborate directly with electrical, RF, thermal, manufacturing, systems engineering, suppliers, and customers to resolve packaging and integration challenges
Support prototype fabrication, assembly, fit-check, qualification testing, production transition, configuration control, and sustainment of fielded hardware