Staff Software Engineer, Sensing Systems

CHAOS Industries•El Segundo, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

CHAOS Industries is hiring one of the first software engineers on its electro-optical team, initially working with long-range EO/IR sensors and potentially extending to sensors on mobile and airborne platforms. This is a software engineering role focused on building software that enables individual sensors and multiple sensors to operate as one system. The role emphasizes strong engineering fundamentals and curiosity about physical systems rather than camera or computer-vision specialization. Sensors can drift or disagree, and field testing may differ from simulation, so the engineer will work closely with real hardware and take software into the field. The engineer will build generic, performant software that works across different camera heads and configurations; test harnesses and workflow graphs that move capabilities from development through simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing to real-world end-to-end tests; autonomous tests against hardware at test sites; better simulation and replay; interfaces, timing, and data flow for multi-sensor integration; and deployment, monitoring, and live fixes for software running on edge hardware at test and customer sites. The team aims to develop capabilities without real hardware as much as possible, progressively validating them through simulation, hardware in the loop, and real-world testing, with AI assisting where appropriate. The role is primarily software development, not algorithm research, physics modeling, applied machine learning, or pure DevOps. The position is on-site in El Segundo, California, with regular travel to test sites and field deployments. U.S. Person status is required because the role involves access to U.S.-only data systems, and the candidate must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Requirements

At least 8 years of professional software engineering experience, including end-to-end ownership of a production system that the candidate designed, shipped, and maintained when it failed.
A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
Strong Python skills, including building services and tools that other engineers depend on.
Comfort with Linux, Docker, networking, and CI, including bringing up a multi-service system on unfamiliar hardware.
Practical use of AI coding tools such as Cursor or Claude Code, with sound judgment about what to delegate and the ability to write, explain, and debug code independently.
Grounding in the physical world through an engineering degree, hands-on hardware, sensor, or robotics work, or field experience with systems used outside the lab.
Ability to read a schematic, understand a test rack, and communicate with optics or RF engineers.
Interest in field work and willingness to be on site when software runs, debug issues, and ship fixes before the next flight.
A habit of measuring system behavior through experiments and trusting data rather than guesses.
U.S. Person status, required for access to U.S.-only data systems.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
Ability to work on-site in El Segundo, California, and travel regularly to test sites and field deployments.

Nice To Haves

Experience with cameras, EO/IR sensors, gimbals, radar, or video pipelines such as GStreamer or DeepStream.
Embedded Linux or edge computing experience, especially with NVIDIA Jetson.
GPU or CUDA experience.
Experience in robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones, or aerospace.
Experience with hardware-in-the-loop test rigs or test automation against real hardware.
Simulation or game-engine experience with Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Unreal, or similar tools.
Experience building AI agent harnesses or workflow graphs.
C++ or TypeScript experience.
Defense or aerospace experience.
A current U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

Build software that works across different sensor heads and configurations while meeting performance requirements and adapting to mission and customer needs.
Build harnesses and workflow graphs that take capabilities from initial development through simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing to end-to-end field tests with minimal manual effort.
Develop systems that autonomously run complete tests against real hardware at test sites and report results.
Improve simulation and replay to enable more features to be developed and validated before hardware testing.
Build interfaces, timing, and data flows that integrate radar, cameras, and other sensors into one system.
Deploy and monitor software running on edge hardware at test and customer sites, and provide live fixes.
Participate in field testing, measure system behavior, diagnose issues, and deliver fixes before subsequent flights or tests.