Software Engineer - Guidance, Navigation, and Controls

Chaos Industries; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

401k with company match

Relocation assistance

Free daily lunch

Job summary

CHAOS Industries is seeking a Senior Guidance Software Engineer to lead the design of guidance software for a clean sheet airframe. You will work on guidance and navigation software within COTS frameworks and support integration with flight hardware, on-site in Los Angeles (Hawthorne).

The role requires 10+ years of OO software development, strong knowledge of ArduPilot, and expertise with STM32 and Linux on Nvidia Jetson/AMD/Xilinx SoC, plus Agile practices. U.S. person status is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher degree in CS, CE, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of professional, object-oriented software development.
• Experience with guidance algorithms for UAS using ArduPilot.
• Solid understanding of flight dynamics of fixed-wing and rotary-wing platforms.
• Experience with software development on microcontroller architectures (STM32 or similar) and Linux on Nvidia Jetson/AMD/Xilinx SoC.
• Experience with real-time embedded software and hardware interfaces.
• Experience with integration of vendor provided low-level drivers and firmware.
• Experience with Agile lifecycle processes including Scrum, CI/CD, and TDD.
• U.S. Person status is required as this position will require access to U.S.-only data systems.

Responsibilities

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

Skills

C/C++

Real-time embedded

Linux development

Flight hardware integration

ArduPilot

VHDL

Git

Scrum/CI/CD

DoD security clearance

Education

Bachelor’s or higher degree in CS/CE/Aerospace or related

Tools

STM32

NVIDIA Jetson

AMD/Xilinx SoC

Microblaze

Job description

Software Engineer - Guidance, Navigation, and Controls

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 system integration of software on flight hardware


• Work full-time on-site in our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California


• 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


• 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, 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: 450 employees and counting across 5 global offices

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.

#LI-onsite

Please note this position does not necessarily require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

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.