Staff hardware quality engineer

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, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.

Role Overview

Drive quality engineering initiatives to improve manufacturing processes, product quality, and operational efficiency. Lead Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations, ensuring effective corrective actions are implemented and driven to closure. Identify opportunities to reduce manufacturing defects, rework, and Hours Per Unit (HPU). Develop and maintain quality requirements, procedures, and documentation to support consistent manufacturing processes. Establish, monitor, and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify quality trends and drive continuous improvement. Collaborate cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Test, and Engineering teams to resolve quality issues and prevent recurrence.

Responsibilities

Continuous Improvement

• Review travelers, routers, and build records in ERP/MES.
• Ensure traceability, configuration, and documentation are complete and accurate.
• Enforce workmanship standards (IPC, internal specs).
• Lead Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations through closure.
• Develop and maintain quality documentation, requirements, and procedures.
• Develop, maintain, track, and trend key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Drive Hours Per Unit (HPU) and manufacturing defect reduction initiatives.

Nonconformance & Disposition

• Identify, document, and segregate nonconforming material.
• Support MRB and disposition activities.
• Drive immediate containment on the floor.

Production Support

• Act as first responder to quality issues during builds.
• Interface directly with Manufacturing, Test, and Engineering.
• Ensure no hardware progresses with unresolved quality issues.

Minimum Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in quality engineering, manufacturing quality, or related manufacturing engineering roles.
• Experience identifying, investigating, and resolving hardware manufacturing quality issues.
• Demonstrated experience leading RCCA investigations through closure.
• Experience with HPU and/or manufacturing defect reduction initiatives.
• Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering.
• Ability to read drawings, schematics, and specifications (GD&T preferred).
• Experience with ERP/MES systems for build tracking and sign-off.
• Familiarity with IPC standards (J-STD-001, IPC-A-610).

Preferred Requirements

• Six Sigma experience or certification.
• Experience in aerospace/defense or high-reliability hardware.
• Experience in multiple production domains (R&D, T2P, LRIP, FRP).
• AS9100 environment experience, experience performing FAI (AS9102).
• Strong MRB / nonconformance handling experience.

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 while you're working onsite, fully-stocked kitchen, 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: 500+ employees and counting across 5 global offices

Salary Range

$155,000 - $230,000 per year

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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