Radar System Test Field Engineer
Chaos
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 Industries is seeking a highly-skilled and motivated Radar System Test Field Engineer to join our team supporting our R&D and product engineering team, overseeing and managing the reliability and maintainability of the products we are developing. The Radar System Test Field Engineer is a critical hands-on role responsible for the on-site installation, integration, testing, troubleshooting, and maintenance of advanced radar systems. Working directly with customers, often in dynamic field environments (e.g., field sites, test ranges, government labs, etc), this engineer ensures optimal system performance, provides expert technical support, and contributes directly to the success of complex defense programs.
Responsibilities:
- Define technical aspects of the radar system Concept of Employment (ConEmps) for field tests and field demonstrations.
- Act as the primary technical liaison between the engineering team and the customer/end-users in the field. Work closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful demonstration of products.
- Support the creation of detailed plans outlining the test objectives, scope, resources, schedule, and acceptance criteria and execute those plans to validate radar system performance against specified requirements.
- Understand Radar System principles such as Radar Range Equation, Free Space Path Loss, Range to Horizon, Antenna Beamwidth, Radar Cross Section, etc and be able to calculate and incorporate those principles into test planning as needed
- Perform rigorous integration testing of radar subsystems and interfaces with other combat or platform systems (e.g., C2 systems, weapon systems, navigation).
- Support the development of “flight cards” to define test asset flight plans, paths, and procedures to meet system test objectives and/or customer capability demonstration objectives (for both manned and unmanned vehicles).
- Understand test range restrictions and limitations and develop solutions to work within those parameters to develop plans that enable successful test events.
- Support the development of step-by-step instructions for executing tests, specifying equipment configurations, data collection methods, and expected results.
- Manage and track test equipment, tools, and spare parts required for field deployments.
- Configure test environments, operate test equipment, and collect high-fidelity test data.
- Analyze test data, identify trends, anomalies, and performance discrepancies.
- Participate in formal test events, demonstrations, and customer acceptance testing.
- Diagnose and troubleshoot complex hardware, software, and RF issues in real-time within the field environment.
- Provide immediate feedback to engineering teams on system performance and field observations.
- Prepare clear, concise, and accurate test reports, incident reports, and technical documentation.
- Work full-time onsite out of our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California.
- Travel frequently (e.g., 25-50%, potentially on short notice) to various domestic and international customer sites and test ranges.
Minimum Requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) or another related field or equivalent work experience
- Experience in test, integration, or field engineering roles, with direct experience on complex radar, RF, or sensor systems.
- Deep understanding of the radar system, its operation, and its interfaces.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical information clearly to diverse audiences (engineers, technicians, customers).
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision in dynamic, often unpredictable, field environments. Adaptable to changing priorities and schedules.
- Ability to travel frequently (e.g., 25-50%, potentially on short notice) to various domestic and international customer sites and test ranges
- Must be a U.S. Citizen and possess or be able to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret (or Top Secret/SCI) security clearance.
Preferred Requirements:
- Masters degree in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) or another related field or equivalent work experience.
- Proficiency with test equipment such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, network analyzers, and power meters.
- Experience with Frequency and Spectrum Allocation requirements and procedures for acquiring necessary approvals.
- Experience with the operation of manned or unmanned (UAS) aircraft and the rules and regulations associated with their operation.
- Experience with Linux operating systems and command-line interfaces for system configuration and diagnostics.
- Software programming experience (C/C++, Python, Matlab, etc)
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 (for exempt employees), casual dress code
- Compensation Components: competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance + (coming soon!) annual bonuses
- Company Size: 100 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!
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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