Test Equipment Development Engineer (HIL and Test Equipment)

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 Summary:

We are seeking a Special Test Equipment (STE) Designer responsible for the full lifecycle of interceptor test systems — from requirements analysis and qualification strategy through physical design, hardware build, and Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) deployment.

This role owns the realization of the interceptor test ecosystem across:

• Development benches
• Qualification fixtures
• Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems
• Production acceptance stations

You will ensure that test systems provide rigorous requirements verification while also being physically robust, scalable, maintainable, and aligned with production rate targets. This is not solely a test planning role. It is a design–build–deploy ownership role.

Responsibilities: 

• Test Requirements & Architecture Ownership
  • Derive test equipment functional requirements from system and subsystem specifications.
  • Establish traceability between interceptor requirements and test coverage.
  • Define:
    • Subassembly test strategies
    • Qualification test configurations
    • Production acceptance test philosophy
    • Fault-injection and edge-case coverage approaches
  • Develop interface control documents (ICDs) between product and test systems.
  • Balance verification rigor with cycle time, cost, and rate considerations.
• Physical STE Design & Hardware Realization
  • Design complete STE hardware systems including:
    • Mechanical fixtures
    • Electrical interface panels
    • Breakout harnesses
    • Load simulators
    • Signal conditioning hardware
    • Test racks and enclosures
    • Generate full technical data packages:
    • Schematics
    • Wiring diagrams
    • Harness drawings
    • Mechanical CAD models
    • Assembly documentation
  • Select and integrate instrumentation (DAQ, power supplies, RF equipment, environmental interfaces).
  • Design safe high-voltage, high-current, and energetics-compatible test interfaces as required.
• Hands-On Build & Integration
  • Lead and directly support:
    • Rack assembly
    • Panel wiring
    • Harness fabrication
    • Fixture assembly
    • Hardware bring-up and debug
  • Conduct bench-level integration of hardware and automation software.
  • Debug electrical, mechanical, and software integration issues.
  • Validate signal integrity, power distribution, and system stability.
  • This role is expected to be present at the bench and on the floor during integration.
• Automated Test & Production Deployment
  • Develop automated test software (e.g., LabVIEW, Python, C++, etc.).
  • Architect production test stations optimized for:
    • Throughput
    • Repeatability
    • Operator simplicity
    • Error-proofing
  • Define takt-aligned test cycle times in coordination with Industrial Engineering.
  • Integrate STE into MES for data capture and traceability.
  • Lead factory installation and commissioning of LRIP test stations.
  • Drive rapid iteration and refinement during pilot and early production builds.
• Qualification & Environmental Test Support
  • Design and build fixtures and instrumentation for:
    • Vibration
    • Thermal
    • Shock
    • EMI/EMC
  • Support qualification campaigns with robust data acquisition strategies.
  • Lead root cause analysis of test anomalies.
  • Update STE configurations as designs mature.
• STE Lifecycle & Rate Scaling
  • Manage configuration control and revisions of test systems.
  • Improve test cycle time and reliability as production scales.
  • Establish maintenance, calibration, and sustainment strategies.
  • Drive cost-down efforts for production-deployed test systems.
  • Plan replication of test stations as rate increases.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years experience designing and building custom test equipment for aerospace, defense, automotive, or high-reliability electromechanical systems.
• Demonstrated experience translating product requirements into test system architecture.
• Hands-on experience with:
• Electrical schematic design
• Wiring and panel integration
• Mechanical fixture design
• Data acquisition systems
• Instrumentation integration
• Experience debugging integrated electro-mechanical systems.
• Familiarity with root cause methodologies and failure analysis.
• U.S. Citizenship required; ability to obtain and maintain DoD clearance.

Preferred Requirements:

• Experience with missile, UAV, or guided munition systems.
• Experience designing HIL systems for avionics or control systems.
• Experience deploying test stations into LRIP or production environments.
• Familiarity with:
• NI hardware platforms
• RF testing
• Actuator/servo testing
• PCBA-level test
• Experience integrating test systems with MES/PLM infrastructure.
• Experience in energetics or explosive-safe environments.

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: 450 employees and counting across 5 global offices

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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