Industrial Designer

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. Founded in 2022, CHAOS has raised $1 billion from leading investors including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. Headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London.

About the role

CHAOS is seeking an Industrial Designer to shape the physical and human-facing aspects of next-generation dual-use systems—spanning mounted and dismounted sensor platforms, ground-based vehicles, and airborne effectors. In this role, you will define and drive the industrial design vision across hardware and user-facing systems, balancing real-world operational constraints with a cohesive product identity. You will collaborate with hardware, software, and user interface teams to ensure products are high-performing, intuitive, durable, and thoughtfully designed for their operational environments. This position sits at the intersection of industrial design, human factors, and product strategy, bridging engineering-driven development and user-centered design. The ideal candidate is hands-on, with experience designing ruggedized products for demanding environments such as military, aerospace, or industrial applications. This is a full-time, on-site position in Los Angeles, CA, with ~20% travel for field testing and user engagement.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the industrial design vision across a portfolio of dual-use products, ensuring alignment with brand, usability, and mission requirements
• Translate complex system requirements into intuitive physical form factors, layouts, and user interactions
• Design for real-world use cases, including deployment, transport, setup, maintenance, and operation in austere environments
• Collaborate with hardware, software, and UI teams to ensure a cohesive end-to-end user experience across physical and digital interfaces
• Develop concepts, mockups, and prototypes (low- to high-fidelity) to rapidly iterate on form, ergonomics, and usability
• Guide trade studies between performance, size, usability, and visual design, helping the organization make intentional design decisions
• Influence product architecture early to improve usability, serviceability, and operator efficiency
• Ensure designs account for ruggedization, environmental exposure, and manufacturability, in collaboration with mechanical engineering
• Partner with marketing, growth, and brand design groups to develop the CHAOS brand language through physical representations of new products
• Create conceptual design proposals for new products and mission types
• Provide design direction and critique across teams to maintain consistency and quality
• Participate in field testing and user engagement, incorporating feedback from operators into iterative design improvements
• Help evolve a design language that balances high-performance systems with a disciplined, mission-appropriate aesthetic

What Success Looks Like

• Products that are easier to deploy, operate, and maintain in the field
• Clear, intentional tradeoffs between performance and usability
• A recognizable and consistent design language aligned with brand image
• Strong alignment between engineering, product vision, and user needs
• Designs that balance visual quality with mission appropriateness—modern without being ornamental

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design or related field
• 5+ years of experience in industrial design, with a focus on ruggedized, outdoor, or mission-critical products
• Demonstrated experience taking products from concept through production
• Strong portfolio showcasing shipped products (military, aerospace, industrial, automotive, or adjacent fields preferred)
• Experience designing for real-world use—including ergonomics, human factors, and operational workflows
• Ability to create and communicate design intent through sketches, renderings, prototypes, and storytelling
• Working knowledge of DFMA and manufacturing constraints, with the ability to collaborate effectively with mechanical engineers and manufacturing process engineers
• Understanding of environmental and durability considerations (e.g., weather exposure, handling, transport, field use)
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with engineering, product, and leadership teams
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing military or defense-adjacent systems, or products used in harsh environments
• Exposure to mounted/dismounted systems, sensor platforms, or vehicle-integrated products
• Familiarity with human-machine interface design across both physical and digital systems
• Experience working with rapid prototyping tools (3D printing, shop tools, etc.)
• Previous experience building high-fidelity visual models, developing guidance documents, and communicating with build vendors
• Familiarity specifying color, material, and finish for mass-produced products
• Proficiency with common industrial design tools—SolidWorks, KeyShot, Adobe Suite, Figma, and engineering PDM software
• Experience conducting or supporting user research, field studies, or operator interviews
• Experience designing MIL-Spec products
• Active U.S. security clearance

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid by the company
• 401k with 50% company match up to 6% of pay
• FSA and HSA options
• Life insurance
• Free daily lunch
• ‘No meeting Fridays’
• Unlimited PTO
• Casual dress code

Pay

The targeted base compensation range is $167,000–$248,000. This range reflects base salary only and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. Actual salary offers may vary based on work experience, education, training, critical skills, and business considerations.