Staff Mechanical Engineer

Socket.dev; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 167,000 - 209,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free daily lunch

No meeting Fridays

Unlimited PTO

Casual dress code

Job summary

CHAOS Industries seeks a Staff Mechanical Engineer to design, integrate, and qualify ruggedized sensor systems and electronics for dual-use aerospace and defense applications. You will handle hands-on mechanical work, CAD modeling, and interface control documents, collaborating across disciplines to meet stringent requirements.

The role covers concept through production with opportunities to mentor junior engineers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware for aerospace/defense.
• Strong CAD proficiency, including complex assemblies and detailed design.
• Experience producing production-ready mechanical drawings and documentation.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 and aerospace connectors (MIL-DTL-38999, ARINC, Micro-D).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on mechanical design and integration of ruggedized hardware and sensor systems.
• Own mechanical design for defined subsystems and major assemblies.
• Conduct trade studies and define recommended path forward.
• Develop CAD models, drawings, installation docs, and ICDs.
• Ensure designs meet structural, thermal, environmental, and manufacturability requirements.
• Lead design reviews and collaborate across functions to solve integration challenges.
• Support system integration, qualification, and transition to production.
• Mentor junior engineers.

Skills

Mechanical design

CAD proficiency

SolidWorks

Systems integration

GD&T

Thermal analysis

Security clearance

Mentoring junior engineers

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

FEA software

Interface control documents (ICDs)

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 Staff Mechanical Engineer to perform the hands-on design, development, packaging, integration, and qualification of ruggedized sensor systems, avionics, electronic hardware, and related mission-critical systems for dual-use aerospace and defense applications. The ideal candidate brings strong mechanical design and CAD expertise, experience with complex assemblies and integrated systems, and demonstrated prototyping, analysis, and problem-solving skills.

The position supports the product lifecycle from concept development and architecture through detailed design, analysis, prototyping, qualification testing, production, fielding, and sustainment. Design challenges may include structures, enclosures, mechanisms, electromechanical hardware, thermal solutions, support equipment, and other systems deployed across land-, sea-, and air-based platforms.

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

Responsibilities:

• Perform hands-on mechanical design and integration of ruggedized electronic hardware, sensor systems, avionics, structures, mechanisms, enclosures, and related support equipment
• Own the mechanical design and integration of defined subsystems, product areas, or major assemblies.
• Perform trade studies and recommend path forward
• Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies, detailed drawings, installation documentation, and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Develop mechanical designs subject to structural, thermal, environmental, manufacturability, installation, and operational requirements
• Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses, hand calculations, requirements analysis, and design verification activities
• Lead design review on owned design
• Work collaboratively with mechanical, electrical, RF, power, manufacturing, systems engineering, customers, suppliers, and platform providers to resolve integration challenges
• Support system integration, qualification, fit-check, installation, alignment, troubleshooting, prototype fabrication, assembly, and transition to production
• Support configuration control, make/buy evaluations, fielding, and sustainment of deployed systems
• Mentor junior engineers

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
• 7+ 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, such as SolidWorks or equivalent, including complex assemblies and detailed design
• Experience producing and reviewing production-ready mechanical drawings and documentation
• Understanding of mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Familiarity with military and aerospace connectors, such as MIL-DTL-38999, ARINC, and Micro-D
• Understanding of mechanical drafting standards, GD&T, tolerance analysis, and configuration-controlled documentation
• Familiarity with structural analysis methods, including hand calculations and FEA
• Experience designing or integrating ruggedized hardware and considering applicable environmental requirements
• Experience interpreting and applying applicable military and aerospace standards, including MIL-STD-810 where relevant
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively in 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
• Experience supporting environmental qualification testing and analysis, including thermal cycling, vibration, and shock
• Experience with mechanisms, actuation systems, structures, thermal management, packaging, cable routing, connector layouts, or electromechanical integration
• Experience with commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation tools, such as NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, COMSOL, or similar tools
• Experience with prototyping, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, fabrication, assembly, and production transition
• Familiarity with aerospace, defense, military, or other ruggedized hardware standards and specifications

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

$167k-209k

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.