Principal/Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer
CHAOS Industries
| Company | CHAOS Industries |
| Category | Engineering |
| Location | El Segundo |
| Remote | On-site (inferred) |
| Employment | Not stated |
| Level | Lead |
| Salary | Not stated by the employer |
| Posted | 16 Jun 2026 |
| Last verified | 9 Aug 2026 |
| Source | Employer ATS (greenhouse) |
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 an experienced Principal or Sr Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead the design, development, and integration of advanced missile and UAV launcher systems. This role owns end-to-end mechanical design from concept development through production and sustainment, of launcher systems supporting solid rocket motor effectors, turbine-powered UAVs, and electrically powered UAV systems across mobile ground and maritime platforms. This role collaborates closely across functions and provides technical management of subcontracts.
This role is suited for engineers who thrive in fast-paced, hands-on environments and are comfortable owning hardware from concept through field deployment.
The ideal candidate has strong hands-on mechanical CAD and system integration experience, demonstrated launcher design and integration success, a deep understanding of ruggedized hardware design, and a proven ability to work independently and guide cross-disciplinary engineering efforts.
This is a full-time, on-site position in Hawthorne, CA. Level (Principal vs Sr Principal) will be determined based on relevant technical and leadership experience.
Responsibilities:
Own mechanical architecture and integration of launcher systems across multiple platforms (ground and maritime)
Define and manage mechanical and electro-mechanical interfaces between missile, canister, and platform
Develop solutions for environmental protection and blast, plume, and thermal effects including gas management, shielding, and structural protection
Ensure compliance with safety interlock requirements and launch sequencing constraints.
Design mechanical safing features and contribute to system-level hazard analyses.
Design and develop mechanisms and actuation systems for deployment, retention, and release
Ensure compliance with relevant military standards
Serve as a primary technical hardware interface with customers, platform providers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners. Perform make/buy assessments
Lead integration of launcher systems onto mobile ground and maritime platforms, accounting for structural loads, motion environments, corrosion, and installation constraints
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 system integration for aerospace or defense
Demonstrated experience designing missile launcher systems or closely related hardware
Strong background in structural design, mechanisms, and ruggedized hardware&