Staff Software Engineer, Sensing Systems

Nice to Have:

• Cameras, EO/IR sensors, gimbals, radar, or video pipelines such as GStreamer or DeepStream.
• Embedded Linux or edge computing, especially NVIDIA Jetson, and GPU or CUDA work.
• Robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones or aerospace.
• Hardware-in-the-loop test rigs, or test automation against real hardware.
• Simulation or game-engine work (Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Unreal or similar).
• Building AI agent harnesses or workflow graphs.
• C++ or TypeScript.
• Defense or aerospace experience, or a current U.S. security clearance.
• Location and Requirements:
• Work on-site in El Segundo, CA.
• Regular travel to test sites and field deployments.
• U.S. Person status is required, as this position requires access to U.S.-only data systems.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.
• 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: $211,000 - $290,000
• 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.
• Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.

Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.

Qualifications

• We care more about strong engineering fundamentals and curiosity than about any specific technology or domain.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering, including owning a production system end to end: you designed it, shipped it, and fixed it when it broke.
• A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Physics or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Strong Python. You build services and tools other engineers depend on, not just scripts and notebooks.
• Comfort with Linux, Docker, networking and CI. You can get a multi-service system running on hardware you've never touched before.
• Real leverage from AI coding tools such as Cursor or Claude Code, with a considered view on what to delegate to them and what not to. We treat them as a multiplier on skills you already have: you should be able to write, explain and debug your own code without them.
• Grounding in the physical world, whether from an engineering degree, hands-on work with hardware, sensors or robotics, or field time with systems that had to work outside the lab. You can read a schematic, understand a test rack, and talk to an optics or RF engineer.
• An appetite for field work. You want to be on site when your code runs, and you can debug and ship a fix before the next flight.
• A habit of measuring rather than guessing: you build the experiment, then trust the data.