Chief Engineer, Electronic Warfare Payload

Chaos Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 220,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Free daily lunch onsite

401k match

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

CHAOS Industries is seeking a Chief Engineer to own the technical direction of our electronic warfare payload, from concept to fielding. You will lead a multidisciplinary team as the senior technical authority across RF, DSP, firmware, software, and systems integration, ensuring hardware operates in real conditions.

The role demands 15+ years in EW/RF systems with hands-on verification, field tests, and a DoD SECRET clearance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in Aerospace, Mechanical, Systems, or Electrical Engineering.
• 15+ years of EW, radar, or RF sensing and signal processing experience with technical leadership.
• Current or recent DoD SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical authority for EW payload architecture, requirements, and design decisions.
• Lead system-level trade studies, risk management, and design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR).
• Direct integration of antenna, RF front-end, digital processing, power, thermal, and mechanical subsystems into host platforms.
• Own system verification and validation, including test planning and field test readiness.
• Provide technical leadership across RF, hardware, firmware, software, and systems teams, and mentor senior engineers.

Skills

RF hardware

DSP

Firmware

Software

Systems integration

DoD standards

RF systems engineering

Field/test engineering

Program leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Systems, or Electrical Engineering

Master's degree or higher

Tools

SDR

FPGA-based signal processing

RF/digital co-design

Job description

Chief Engineer, Electronic Warfare Payload

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, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com .

Role Overview:

CHAOS is seeking a Chief Engineer to own the technical direction of our electronic warfare (EW) payload, from concept and architecture through qualification, platform integration, field test, and production transition. You will lead a multidisciplinary team and be the senior technical authority across RF hardware, digital signal processing, firmware and software, and systems integration. This is a build-and-field environment where you will be accountable for getting real hardware operating in realistic conditions.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical authority for EW payload architecture, requirements, and design decisions
• Lead system-level trade studies, technical risk management, and design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR)
• Direct integration of antenna, RF front-end, digital processing, power, thermal, and mechanical subsystems into host platforms
• Own system verification and validation, including test planning, anechoic chamber and range testing, and field test readiness
• Provide technical leadership across RF, hardware, firmware, software, and systems teams, and mentor senior engineers
• Partner with program management, manufacturing, and customers to translate mission needs into executable technical plans
• Drive configuration control and the transition from prototype to production and fielding, including software and waveform updates
• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Systems, or Electrical Engineering, or a related field
• 15+ years of experience developing EW, radar, or RF sensing and signal processing systems, including technical leadership of a program or major subsystem
• Detailed understanding of EMSO, adversary system operation, EM countermeasure and CCM techniques and their implementation
• Hands on experience with EW technique verification, validation, field and operational testing
• Demonstrated experience taking a high TRL RF system through full lifecycle development, including field or flight test
• Strong command of RF systems engineering, digital signal processing, and DoD standards for safety, environments, and test
• Current or recent DoD SECRET clearance

Preferred Requirements:

• Master's degree or higher
• Current or recent DoD TOP SECRET security clearance; eligibility for SAP and/or SCI indoc.
• Prior role as Chief Engineer, Lead Systems Engineer, or Technical Director on a fielded EW or radar program
• Experience with SDR, FPGA-based signal processing, and RF/digital co-design
• Experience with airborne small form-factor EW subsystem development for tactical aircraft and/or missile application
• Experience with a prime integrator or in a fast-moving defense startup

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch while you're working onsite, fully-stocked kitchen, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 500+employees and counting across 5 global offices

Salary Range: $220,000 - $300,000

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

EXPORT CONTROLS - This position may require access to information and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Your responses to the questions below will be used solely to determine your eligibility under U.S. law to receive information and materials subject to U.S. export controls.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in CHAOS Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.