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 a skilled Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Engineer to join our hardware engineering team. In this role, you will design, build, and maintain HIL simulation environments that enable full system integration testing of our Effector platforms — bridging the gap between software development and flight hardware. You will work closely with GNC, software, and systems engineers to ensure our vehicles are thoroughly validated before ever leaving the ground.
The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building and operating HIL or SIL simulation environments for embedded or autonomous systems.
This is a full-time, on-site position in Hawthorne, CA.
Responsibilities:
- Design and develop HIL test benches for full effector system integration, including flight controllers, ESCs, sensors, and ground control systems
- Integrate high-fidelity simulation models (flight dynamics, actuator, and sensor models) that accurately replicate real-world behavior
- Integrate hardware components - including autopilot boards, communication links, power systems, and peripherals - into HIL systems
- Develop automated test suites and regression frameworks to validate software and firmware changes against HIL environments
- Collaborate with software and integration/test engineers to define test plans and acceptance criteria for new features and hardware releases
- Debug complex hardware-software interactions by analyzing HIL test data, logs, and telemetry
- Maintain and improve test infrastructure, including simulation software, real-time targets, and data acquisition systems
- Document test methodologies, procedures, and results clearly for cross-functional team use
- Support transition of HIL-validated systems to integration and flight test phases
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- 3+ years of experience in hardware-in-the-loop testing, embedded systems integration, or a closely related discipline
- Hands-on experience building and operating HIL or SIL simulation environments for embedded or autonomous systems
- Proficiency in real-time simulation platforms (e.g., dSPACE, NI VeriStand, or similar)
- Strong programming skills in Python and/or C/C++ for test automation and system scripting
- Familiarity with flight controller software such as PX4, ArduPilot, or equivalent
- Experience with communication protocols common in drone systems (MAVLink, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C)
- Solid understanding of effector system architecture, including propulsion, navigation, and control loops
- Experience with version control systems and CI/CD pipelines for automated testing
- Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills across hardware and software domains
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance
Preferred Requirements:
- Master’s degree in Engineering
- Experience with ROS or ROS 2 for simulation and integration testing
- Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink for flight dynamics or control system modeling
- Exposure to flight test operations and transitioning systems from HIL to field testing
- Experience with FPGA firmware development or embedded Linux environments
- Knowledge of RF systems, GPS signal simulation, or sensor fusion techniques
- FAA Part 107 certification or equivalent UAV operational credentials
Why CHAOS?
- Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for 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: 250 employees and counting across 5 global offices
$130k-190k
The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.
Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.
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