Senior Mechanical Engineer, RF Sensor Productization

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, and London. For more information, please visit

CHAOS is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the mechanical design and productization of the passive RF geolocation sensors in our electromagnetic warfare product line. Our Spectrum Sensing Team has developed and fielded a working prototype of a distributed TDOA geolocation sensor. Now we need an engineer who can turn it into a rugged, repeatable product that can be manufactured and deployed in fixed‑site, mast‑mounted, and ground‑vehicle configurations.

In this role, you will be the mechanical technical lead for the sensor node. You will define the enclosure and mounting architecture, solve the thermal, environmental, and RF‑integration challenges of a precision‑timing sensor operating outdoors, and deliver a design that can be built  will work daily with the RF, electrical, and software engineers who built the prototype, and you will partner closely with Manufacturing Engineering to make sure the design is ready for production from day one.

The ideal candidate has taken ruggedized electronics hardware from prototype through qualification and into production, is fluent in DFM/DFA, and enjoys being hands‑on in a small, fast‑moving, cross‑disciplinary team.

This is a full‑time, on‑site position in Washington, D.C.

• Own the mechanical architecture and detailed design of the sensor node, including enclosures, chassis, internal structures, brackets, cable management, and external interfaces
• Design fixed‑site (mast, tower, and rooftop) and ground‑vehicle mounting solutions, including quick‑deploy, leveling, and alignment features as needed
• Lead thermal design and analysis for sealed outdoor electronics, including heat sinking, thermal interface materials, solar loading, and passive and active cooling tradeoffs
• Design for environmental robustness, including ingress protection (IP67 or equivalent), sealing, corrosion resistance, shock, vibration, humidity, and temperature extremes, in line with MIL-STD-810 and customer requirements
• Partner with RF and electrical engineers on antenna and RF integration, GPS/GNSS and timing‑reference mounting, EMI/EMC shielding and grounding, and connector selection to support MIL-STD-461 and system performance
• Perform first‑order structural, thermal, and tolerance analyses (hand calculations and FEA) to drive design decisions and requirements allocation
• Apply DFM/DFA principles and work with Manufacturing Engineering and suppliers to drive down cost, part count, and assembly time
• Create and release production‑quality CAD models, drawings with GD&T, mechanical BOMs, and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Prototype rapidly using additive manufacturing, CNC machining, and sheet metal, then iterate based on fit‑checks, lab testing, and field feedback
• Plan and support environmental qualification testing (thermal, vibration, shock, ingress), including test fixture design, test execution, and failure investigation
• Support make/buy assessments and the selection of machine shops, enclosure vendors, and contract manufacturers
• Support field demonstrations and customer integration events with…