CHAOS Industries · 2 days ago
Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer
Hawthorne, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$205K/yr - $250K/yr
12+ years expCHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with omniscient systems that give the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. They are seeking a Senior Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to serve as the technical authority for the design, integration, and qualification of electronic hardware and enclosures for aerospace and defense applications.
AerospaceGovernmentMilitaryNational Security
No H1B
Security Clearance RequiredU.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
Architect and design ruggedized electronic hardware and enclosures, including chassis, card-level packaging, mounting features, and thermal solutions, in accordance with program requirements and applicable standards
Define and maintain mechanical architectures, interfaces, and design approaches to support multi-disciplinary system integration
Develop and oversee 3D CAD models, assemblies, 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
Perform and/or review first-order structural and thermal analyses to support design decisions and verify compliance with environmental and performance requirements
Lead cross-disciplinary technical resolution involving mechanical, electrical, RF, power, and systems engineering teams
Serve as a primary technical hardware interface with customers, platform providers, 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
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
12+ years of progressively responsible experience in mechanical design and integration of electronic hardware for aerospace, defense, or similar applications
Expert 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, cross-disciplinary integration challenges
Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to operate effectively across multiple programs
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance
Preferred
Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
Prior experience serving as a mechanical technical authority 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
Benefits
Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay)
FSA
HSA
Life insurance
Free daily lunch
‘No meeting Fridays’
Unlimited PTO
Casual dress code
Competitive base salaries
Generous pre-IPO stock option grants
Relocation assistance
(coming soon!) annual bonuses
Company
CHAOS Industries
CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with omniscient systems that give the ultimate advantage—domain dominance.
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$1BKey Investors
Valor Equity PartnersAccel,New Enterprise AssociatesAccel
2025-11-13Series D· $510M
2025-04-30Series C· $275M
2024-11-13Series B· $145M
Leadership Team
Bo Marr
Co-founder, co-CEO, CTO of Chaos Industries
John Tenet
Founder & CEO
Recent News
Crunchbase News
2025-12-01
Company data provided by crunchbase