Software Engineer - Guidance, Navigation, and Controls

CHAOS Industries; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid

401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay)

Free daily lunch

'No meeting Fridays'

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

CHAOS Industries is looking for a Senior Guidance Software Engineer to lead the design of guidance software for new airframe designs. This role requires expertise in object-oriented software development and navigation software implementation, actively supporting airframe design and system integration.

Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in UAS platform development, flight dynamics, and embedded software. CHAOS offers competitive salaries, excellent health benefits, and unique perks like unlimited PTO and free lunch.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in professional, object-oriented software development.
• Experience with design and implementation of guidance algorithms for UAS platforms.
• Practical understanding of flight dynamics of fixed wing and rotary wing platforms.

Responsibilities

• Implementation of guidance and navigation software within COTS software frameworks.
• Support airframe design activities.
• Support system integration of software on flight hardware.

Skills

Object-oriented software development

Design of guidance algorithms

Flight dynamics understanding

Embedded software development

Agile lifecycle processes

Education

Bachelor’s or higher Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related degree

Tools

ArduPilot

Nvidia Jetson

STM32

git

Job description

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with omniscient systems purpose‑built for today’s realities. Designed and built by top U.S. military veterans and Silicon Valley innovators, CHAOS Industries’ 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. In a world where technological threats move at unprecedented speed, CHAOS Industries delivers advanced sensing and detection solutions that give the ultimate advantage: time.

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised $1B in total funding from leading investors including 8VC, Accel, and NEA. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.

Role Overview

CHAOS is seeking a highly‑skilled and motivated Senior Guidance Software Engineer to join our R&D team. You will get an opportunity to lead the design of our guidance software on a clean sheet airframe design. As a member of Engineering, you also have the opportunity to expand your skillset across our product families.

Responsibilities

• Implementation of guidance and navigation software within COTS software frameworks
• Support airframe design activities
• Support system integration of software on flight hardware
• Work full‑time on‑site in our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California

Minimum Requirements

• Minimum education: Bachelor’s or higher Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related degree
• 10+ years ofexperience in professional, object‑oriented software development
• Experience with design and implementation of guidance algorithms for UAS platforms using commercial autopilot frameworks like ArduPilot
• Practical understanding of flight dynamics of fixed wing and rotary wing platforms
• Solid understanding and extensiveexperience in software development on microcontroller architectures (STM32 or similar) and on Linux hosted on Nvidia Jetson, AMD/Xilinx SoC or Microblaze architectures
• Experience developing real‑time embedded software to include hardware interfaces
• Experience with integration of vendor provided low‑level drivers and firmware
• Experience with Agile lifecycle processes including Scrum, Continuous Integration, and Test‑Driven Development Methodologies
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and collaborate on small teams
• U.S. Person status isrequiredas this position will require the ability to access U.S.-only data system

Preferred Requirements

• Current orpreviousDoD security clearance
• Part 107 remote pilot certification
• Experience with EO/IR sensor integration
• Experience with radar sensor integration
• Experience with firmware development using VHDL and embedded software development flow on AMD/Xilinx FPGAs
• Experience with git
• Experience with production‑level SW development & deployment, including DevOps,DevSecOps, and/or Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) using modern FOSS/COTS toolsets
• Experience with full lifecycle SW development of high-TRL systems
• Experience with HW/SW I&T and V&V of high-TRL systems

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

Salary Range

Salary Range: $160,000 - $240,000

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.

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