Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer

Role Overview

CHAOS Industries is seeking a Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer to serve as the mechanical authority and provide high-value, hands-on mechanical expertise for the integration of ruggedized electronics, effectors, and mission-critical hardware into ground- and sea-mobile platforms for aerospace and defense applications.

Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on technical authority and mechanical integration of mission systems: electronics, enclosures, effectors, launchers, mechanisms, and support equipment into ground- and sea-mobile platforms
• Architect and design mechanical structures, frames, mounts, enclosures, and mechanisms subject to shock, vibration, thermal, and environmental constraints
• Develop and maintain 3D CAD models, assemblies, and interface control documentation (ICDs) to support multi-disciplinary system integration
• Perform first-order structural and thermal analyses and requirements allocations to ensure compliance with customer requirements and applicable military standards
• Lead system-level integration, qualification, and acceptance activities, including oversight of installation, alignment, and fit-check efforts
• Own 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

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline
• 11+ years of progressively responsible experience in platform-level mechanical design and system integration for aerospace and defense applications
• Proven experience integrating mechanical subsystems and mission systems into vehicles, mobile platforms, or fixed installations
• Strong proficiency with CAD tools (e.g., SolidWorks or equivalent) for large assemblies and top-down design
• Expertise in mechanical interfaces, tolerancing, alignment, installation practices, and interface control documents (ICDs)
• Familiarity with structural analysis methods (hand calculations, FEA)
• 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
• Demonstrated ability to lead technical decisions and resolve complex, cross-disciplinary integration challenges
• Strong communication skills and ability to operate effectively in multi-project development environments
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Preferred Requirements

• Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field
• Prior experience serving as a mechanical technical authority on a program
• Experience with mechanisms and actuation systems, including linkages, bearings, motors, hydraulics, and pneumatics, gimbals, or rotary joints
• Experience with system-level requirements allocation
• Familiarity with vehicle integration constraints, including shock, vibration, transport, and operational loads
• Experience with at least one commercial FEA or multiphysics simulation package (NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS, CFD codes, COMSOL, etc.)
• Knowledge of manufacturing and assembly processes for mobile or deployable mechanical structures and mechanisms
• Experience with prototyping, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, and other fabrication techniques, with an understanding of producibility constraints
• Familiarity with military-style connectors (e.g., mil-circular 38999, ARINC, micro-D)
• Experience with field installation, retrofit, and sustainment of complex sensor systems and mobile platforms

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid 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: 200 employees and counting across 5 global offices
• $205k-245k