Principal Electrical Engineer

Socket.dev; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

401k with company match

Free daily lunch

No meeting Fridays

Unlimited PTO

Relocation assistance

Annual bonuses (coming soon)

Job summary

CHAOS Industries in El Segundo, CA, seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to serve as the technical authority for high-reliability power and analog electronics across aerospace and military programs. This full-time, on-site role requires leadership across architecture trades, circuit design, and system integration.

You will mentor engineers, drive design practices, and resolve EMI/EMC, thermal, and integration challenges throughout the product lifecycle, from architecture to field support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and 15+ years of relevant engineering experience
• Expert in power electronics fundamentals: DC/DC conversion, regulation, protection, sequencing, filtering, distribution, thermal management, design margin
• Expert in analog circuit fundamentals: low-noise design, grounding, shielding, signal conditioning, filtering, op amps, references, data converters, sensor interfaces
• EMI/EMC mitigation and layout practices for mixed power, analog, digital, and RF environments
• Hands-on experience leading verification, qualification, production transition, failure analysis, and field support for high-reliability hardware
• Ability to set technical direction and lead engineers through cross-disciplinary hardware challenges
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Responsibilities

• Act as a technical authority for power electronics and analog board design across multiple programs or product lines
• Lead architecture trades and define design approaches for power distribution, DC/DC conversion, analog front ends, sensing, filtering, control, protection, and monitoring circuitry
• Schematic design and simulation for power electronics and analog circuits
• Lead resolution of complex, cross-disciplinary technical issues involving power, controls, EMI/EMC, and system integration
• Guide PCB layout strategy for low-noise analog design, high-current power paths, grounding, shielding, creepage/clearance, thermal management, and isolation of sensitive circuits
• Lead design margin evaluation, derating, tolerance analysis, thermal assessment, and failure analysis for mission-critical hardware
• Serve as technical authority for hardware integration, verification, qualification testing, production transition, failure analysis, and field support

Skills

Power electronics

Analog electronics

EMI/EMC mitigation

Technical leadership

Cross-program coordination

Space/avionics experience

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related

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

Role Overview: CHAOS is seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer with deep expertise in combined power and analog board design to serve as a technical authority for high-reliability electronics used in aerospace and military applications. This role spans the full product lifecycle, from early architecture and requirements shaping through detailed design, analysis, verification, production support, and fielded system sustainment.

The ideal candidate is an internally and externally recognized technical authority in power and analog electronics who can set technical direction, establish design practices, mentor other engineers, and resolve complex mixed power, precision analog, EMI/EMC, and system integration issues across multiple programs.

This is a full-time, on-site position in El Segundo, CA.

Responsibilities

• Act as a technical authority for power electronics and analog board design across multiple programs or product lines
• Lead architecture trades and define design approaches for power distribution, DC/DC conversion, analog front ends, sensing, filtering, control, protection, and monitoring circuitry
• Schematic design and simulation for power electronics and analog circuits
• Lead resolution of complex, cross-disciplinary technical issues involving power, controls, EMI/EMC, and system integration
• Guide PCB layout strategy for low-noise analog design, high-current power paths, grounding, shielding, creepage/clearance, thermal management, and isolation of sensitive circuits
• Lead design margin evaluation, derating, tolerance analysis, thermal assessment, and failure analysis for mission-critical hardware
• Serve as technical authority for hardware integration, verification, qualification testing, production transition, failure analysis, and field support

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering with 15+ years of relevant engineering experience
• Demonstrated technical leadership of complex power and analog electronics for aerospace, defense, avionics, radar, EW, communications, space systems, or other high-reliability systems
• Expert understanding of power electronics fundamentals, including DC/DC conversion, regulation, protection, sequencing, filtering, power distribution, thermal management, and design margin
• Expert understanding of analog circuit fundamentals, including low-noise design, grounding, shielding, signal conditioning, filtering, op amps, references, data converters, and sensor interfaces
• Expertise in EMI/EMC mitigation and layout practices for mixed power, analog, digital, and RF board environments
• Hands‑on experience leading verification, qualification, production transition, failure analysis, and field support for high-reliability hardware
• Demonstrated ability to set technical direction and lead engineers through ambiguous, cross‑disciplinary hardware challenges
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Preferred Requirements

• Advanced Degree (MS or PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, Mathematics or related discipline
• Experience with Avionics platforms
• Experience with low- and high-voltage aerospace applications, including 28 VDC and 270 VDC
• Familiarity with aerospace standards such as RTCA/DO-160, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-810, and MIL-STD-1275
• Experience establishing design standards, analysis templates, qualification approaches, or review processes for engineering teams

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: 250 employees and counting across 5 global offices
• $190k‑260k

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.

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