Communications Systems & Spectrum Compliance Lead

CHAOS Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401k + company match

Relocation assistance

Unlimited PTO

No meeting Fridays

Job summary

CHAOS Industries in Los Angeles delivers advanced defense-grade communications. The Communications Systems & Spectrum Compliance Lead owns technical performance and regulatory readiness for CHAOS data links across RF dishes, 5G modems, Starlink terminals, and connected networks.

You will validate budgets, licensing, and international approvals while coordinating with legal and export-control teams. The role requires strong RF engineering, regulatory acumen, and cross-functional collaboration,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, RF Engineering, or related field.
• At least 7 years of experience in RF/wireless systems engineering, spectrum management, or regulatory affairs.
• Experience with regulatory affairs and international deployments is valuable.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical performance of CHAOS communications systems and ensure regulatory readiness.
• Design, test, and validate link budgets, network architecture, and failover paths.
• Perform pre-deployment validation to ensure functionality and authorization before travel.
• Support field troubleshooting to maintain uptime of CHAOS systems.
• Evaluate emerging communications technologies for resilience and suitability.
• Document country-specific licensing, frequency coordination, and approvals.
• Coordinate with legal/export-control on ITAR/EAR and encryption controls.

Skills

RF engineering

Regulatory compliance

Spectrum management

Technical writing

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Job description

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

The Communications Systems & Spectrum Compliance Lead is based in El Segundo, California, and owns the technical performance and regulatory readiness of every data link CHAOS systems depend on — from point-to-point RF dishes, 5G and cellular modems, and Starlink terminals, to fiber network interconnects and MPU5 tactical radios. This role suits someone who is equally comfortable validating a link budget on a bench and researching a foreign ministry's spectrum licensing requirements ahead of a partner-nation demonstration.

Beyond sustaining today's communications architecture, this role continuously evaluates emerging communications technology — new SATCOM constellations, private 5G, mesh and ad hoc networking, software-defined radio — to strengthen the resilience of CHAOS's coherent, distributed sensor and effector networks.

You'll be the single point of accountability ensuring that every communications path — device-to-device, device-to-internet, device-to-cellular/ISP — is technically functional and legally authorized before the team departs for any demonstration or contract delivery, domestically or with a foreign partner.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical performance of all communications systems connecting CHAOS-developed devices to each other and to external networks, including point-to-point RF/microwave dishes, 5G and cellular modems, Starlink and other SATCOM terminals, fiber network interconnects, MPU5/tactical radios, and customer mesh networks.
• Design, test, and validate link budgets, network architecture, and failover paths for each deployment configuration.
• Conduct pre-deployment communications validation, confirming every link a system depends on is functional and authorized before the team travels to a site.
• Support and troubleshoot connectivity problems, both in person in the field and remotely in collaboration with the rest of the team, to enable continuous uptime of our systems.
• Continuously evaluate emerging communications technologies — new SATCOM constellations, private 5G/O-RAN, mesh/ad hoc networking, software-defined radio, and PNT-independent comms — for applicability to coherent, distributed defense networks.
• Recommend and pilot new communications technology to reduce single points of failure and improve resilience in contested or denied environments.
• Identify and document acceptable communications protocols, frequency bands, and licensing authorities on a country-by-country basis for every location where CHAOS conducts demonstrations or deliveries.
• Research and track national cellular band allocations, carrier requirements, and roaming agreements required for CHAOS systems to operate abroad.
• Determine Starlink service availability, mobility/roaming authorization status, and any country-specific restrictions or prohibitions before scheduling a deployment.
• Identify host-nation spectrum management authority licensing and frequency coordination requirements, including deconfliction with military users when operating near or alongside foreign partners.
• Track national type-approval/equipment certification requirements (e.g., CE/RED, ANATEL, IFT, SRRC, WPC-ETA, NBTC, and equivalent national certification bodies) applicable to RF hardware carried into a country.
• Coordinate with legal and export-control teams on ITAR/EAR classification, Wassenaar Arrangement dual-use controls, and national encryption import/registration requirements for radios, dishes, and modems.
• Manage customs and temporary import documentation for communications equipment carried into a country for demonstration or delivery.
• Support diplomatic clearance, End User Certificate, and foreign partner government authorization requests tied to communications equipment.
• Maintain a living reference library of country-specific communications and spectrum requirements to support rapid deployment planning.
• Coordinate with program management, field engineering, and foreign partner points of contact to build a complete communications plan for every demonstration and delivery.
• Interface with DoD spectrum management and frequency coordination channels for domestic and OCONUS training and test events.
• Support proposal and capture teams with technical input on communications architecture and regulatory risk for new business.
• Willing to travel (typically 30–50%) to customer, test, and partner-nation sites for deployments and mission support, both CONUS and OCONUS.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, RF Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least 7 years of experience in RF/wireless communications systems engineering, spectrum management, or telecommunications regulatory affairs.
• Hands-on experience with tactical radios (MPU5/SRW or similar), SATCOM terminals (Starlink or comparable), point-to-point RF/microwave links, and cellular/5G modem integration.
• Working knowledge of ITU Radio Regulations and how national spectrum authorities implement them.
• Familiarity with US export control regimes (ITAR, EAR) as applied to communications and RF hardware.
• Experience supporting international deployments, demonstrations, or Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs.
• Ability to interpret link budgets, network architecture diagrams, technical manuals, and regulatory filings.
• Strong technical writing and cross-functional communication skills, with the ability to translate regulatory findings into clear go/no-go guidance for program teams.
• Ability to satisfy customer, program, export-control, background, and drug-testing requirements applicable to assigned work.
• Must currently hold, or be able to obtain and maintain, a U.S. security clearance.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally, including to non-permissive or austere environments.

Preferred Requirements

• Direct experience with L3Harris MPU5/ANW2 or equivalent tactical networking waveforms.
• Experience with Starlink mobility/enterprise terminals and their country-by-country regulatory posture.
• Prior work with DISA, the Joint Spectrum Center, or a service-level spectrum management office.
• Experience navigating national type-approval processes (e.g., CE/RED, ANATEL, SRRC, WPC-ETA).
• Familiarity with encryption import/export declaration processes (e.g., Wassenaar-aligned national regimes).
• Prior service in a military or defense-contractor role involving communications planning.
• Existing relationships with foreign partner-nation telecom regulators or in-country integrators.
• Active DoD Secret or Top Secret clearance.

Required Competencies

• Systems-level RF and network engineering judgment, link-budget analysis, and failure-mode thinking.
• Regulatory research discipline — able to track, interpret, and apply country-specific telecom, spectrum, and customs requirements.
• Cross-functional communication with engineering, legal, export-control, program management, and foreign partner stakeholders.
• Accurate technical and compliance documentation, attention to detail, and composure under deployment-timeline pressure.
• Proactive technology scouting and a bias toward resilient, low-single-point-of-failure network design.

Physical & Work Requirements

• Work at company facilities, test ranges, and customer or partner-nation sites, including outdoor and field environments in variable weather and terrain.
• Set up, test, and troubleshoot RF and network hardware, including antennas, dishes, radios, and modems, sometimes in confined or elevated positions.
• Lift or carry up to 50 pounds with or without reasonable accommodation.
• Work early mornings, evenings, weekends, or extended deployment windows, and travel for multi-day campaigns, both CONUS and OCONUS.

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, ‘No meeting Fridays’, 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: 350 employees and counting across 5 global offices

Salary Range: $150,000 - $190,000

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.