Principal Mechanical Engineer

CHAOS Industries; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Benefits

401(k) with company match

Free daily lunch

Unlimited PTO

Casual dress code

Job summary

CHAOS Industries in El Segundo is looking for a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to lead innovative mechanical design projects for aerospace and defense applications. This role requires strong CAD proficiency and deep mechanical design expertise.

The position demands over 10 years of experience with a focus on ruggedized electronic hardware. CHAOS offers competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits including health insurance and unlimited PTO.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware.
• Strong proficiency with mechanical CAD tools.
• Experience interpreting military standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of ruggedized electronic hardware.
• Own mechanical design responsibility for subsystems.
• Perform structural and thermal analyses for compliance.

Skills

Mechanical design

CAD (SolidWorks)

Thermal solutions

Integration of electronic hardware

Military and aerospace standards

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

NASTRAN

ANSYS

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 Mechanical Design Engineer to lead the mechanical design, integration, and qualification of electronic hardware and enclosures for aerospace and defense applications. The ideal candidate brings deep hands‑on mechanical design expertise, strong CAD and packaging experience, and a proven ability to independently lead cross‑disciplinary technical efforts spanning mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering.

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

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of ruggedized electronic hardware and enclosures, including chassis, card-level packaging, mounting features, and thermal solutions, in accordance with program requirements and applicable standards
• Own mechanical design responsibility for a subsystem or product area, ensuring alignment with system-level requirements and program constraints
• Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies, detailed drawings, and interface control documentation (ICDs), ensuring production-ready quality and configuration control
• Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses to support design decisions and verify compliance with environmental and performance requirements
• Drive cross-disciplinary technical resolution involving mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering teams
• Serve as a key technical interface with suppliers and manufacturing partners
• Perform make/buy assessments with manufacturing partners as required
• Support production transition, configuration control, and fielded system sustainment, including investigation and resolution of integration issues

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware for aerospace, defense, or similar applications
• Strong proficiency with mechanical CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks or equivalent) and experience producing production-ready drawings
• Expertise in mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Familiarity with military and aerospace connectors (e.g., MIL-DTL-38999, ARINC, Micro-D)
• Strong understanding of mechanical drafting standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration-controlled documentation
• Demonstrated experience with ruggedized military hardware and environmental qualification considerations
• Experience interpreting and applying military standards, such as MIL-STD-810 and related platform qualification requirements
• Proven ability to lead technical decisions and resolve complex integration challenges
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, multi-disciplinary development environments
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Preferred Requirements

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
• Prior experience serving as a lead mechanical engineer on a program
• Experience with system-level requirements allocation and architecture trade studies
• Experience supporting environmental qualification testing and analysis (thermal cycling, vibration, shock)
• Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools (e.g., NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, CFD codes, COMSOL, etc.)
• Familiarity with military and aerospace standards and specifications
• Experience supporting cable harness routing, connector layouts, and electromechanical integration
• Experience supporting prototype fabrication, assembly, and transition to production

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401(k) (+ 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

$170k–240k

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.