Effector Guidance Software Engineer

CHAOS Inc. is a global technology company delivering next-generation capabilities to the defense and critical industrial sectors. Founded in 2022 by a seasoned leadership team, CHAOS has quickly become the place where world-class multi-disciplinary engineers come to build mission-critical technologies. CHAOS has a mission-focused culture, dedicated to solving the toughest technical challenges. Its unique agile engineering approach enables rapid prototyping, while deep partnerships with defense and industry ensure real-world solutions.

Role Overview:

CHAOS is seeking a highly-skilled and motivated Senior Guidance Software Engineer to join our R&D team. You will get an opportunity to lead the design of our guidance software on a clean sheet airframe design. As a member of Engineering, you also have the opportunity to expand your skillset across our product families. 

Responsibilities:

• Implementation of guidance and navigation software within COTS software frameworks
• Support airframe design activities
• Support system integration of software on flight hardware
• Work full-time on-site in our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California

Minimum Requirements:

• Minimum education: Bachelor’s or higher Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related degree
• 10+ years of experience in professional, object-oriented software development
• Experience with design and implementation of guidance algorithms for UAS platforms using commercial autopilot frameworks like ArduPilot
• Practical understanding of flight dynamics of fixed wing and rotary wing platforms
• Solid understanding and extensive experience in software development on microcontroller architectures (STM32 or similar) and on Linux hosted on Nvidia Jetson, AMD/Xilinx SoC or Microblaze architectures
• Experience developing real-time embedded software to include hardware interfaces
• Experience with integration of vendor provided low-level drivers and firmware
• Experience with Agile lifecycle processes including Scrum, Continuous Integration, and Test-Driven Development Methodologies
• Ability to work with minimal supervision and collaborate on small teams
• U.S. Person status is required as this position will require the ability to access U.S.-only data system

Preferred Requirements: 

• Current or previous DoD security clearance 
• Part 107 remote pilot certification
• Experience with EO/IR sensor integration
• Experience with radar sensor integration
• Experience with firmware development using VHDL and embedded software development flow on AMD/Xilinx FPGAs
• Experience with git
• Experience with production-level SW development & deployment, including DevOps, DevSecOps, and/or Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) using modern FOSS/COTS toolsets
• Experience with full lifecycle SW development of high-TRL systems
• Experience with HW/SW I&T and V&V of high-TRL systems

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Your medical, dental and vision benefits will be 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits : life, FSA, HSA, 401k (+ Company match), 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 + (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Company Size: 150 employees and counting!
• More About Us: We're building the next generation of aerospace, defense and critical industry technologies with a seasoned team of mission-focused individuals. We were founded in June 2022 and our goal is to become the platform where world-class engineers come to solve critical, real-world problems. We use agile engineering approaches which enable rapid prototyping, deep partnerships with the defense industry ensuring real-world application, and our newly-invented Coherence platform (through which we’ve made a fundamental breakthrough) improves sensor performance and decision-making in real-time. As of April 2025 we have raised $490M (including a $275M Series C at a $2B valuation) from some of the most prominent VC funds and investors including Accel, NEA, 8VC, and Valar. With a managing team that includes Epirus’ founding members (responsible for building a $1.5B company from scratch) + key drivers from Palantir (instrumental in Palantir’s growth to $1B in revenue), we are well-positioned to become one of the fastest growing companies to date!

_ Salary Range: $160,000 - $240,000 _

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.

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