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Factory Automation Engineer

Hawthorne, California, United States

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:

We are seeking a Factory Automation Engineer to join our dynamic team in Los Angeles. In this role, they will be responsible for managing and implementing digital factory initiatives as the Manufacturing team grows and prepares for production rate transitions. The Digital Factory Engineer will be expected to both provide long-term factory integration strategy and recommendations as well as hands-on contribution to factory automation and integration efforts. The ideal candidate has strong experience with Industry 4.0/5.0 implementation, digital factory framework building at scale, and MES/ERP workflows and communication protocols.


Responsibilities:

  • Develop and execute the roadmap for Industry 4.0/5.0 integration in alignment with manufacturing and business goals
  • Define and implement smart factory strategies, ensuring scalability relative to product throughput requirements
  • Develop and lead efforts to integrate factory-level automation initiatives under a unified digital framework
  • Collaborate with teams automating testing and interfacing with tooling to ensure interoperability within the larger factory ecosystem
  • Design and deploy robust, scalable solutions to integrate hardware and software systems with native ERP systems
  • Architect and implement factory automation solutions, including IoT devices, robotics, and data-driven process enhancements
  • Monitor and analyze factory workflows to identify and deploy process improvements through advanced automation
  • Partner with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless system deployment and operational excellence
  • Enable real-time data flow and actionable insights through effective connectivity of factory systems
  • Champion the use of advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning to drive manufacturing efficiency
  • Support the mentoring of additional team members as the digital factory function grows

Minimum Requirements:

  • Bachelor’s in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 8 years prior relevant experience or an advanced degree in a related field and minimum 6 years experience
  • U.S. Person status (i.e. U.S. citizenship or Green Card)
  • Have familiarity in sub system or systems architecting and system-of-systems definition
  • Experience within a manufacturing environment, ideally high-rate
  • Innovative mindset that drives continuous improvement, lean manufacturing and keeps pace with advances in technology
  • Proven track record in smart factory initiatives or Industry 4.0/5.0 integration
  • Experience implementing factory system automation within ERP/MES platforms
  • Hands-on expertise in IoT, industrial robotics, ERP/MES, or SCADA systems
  • Familiarity with AI, machine learning, or big data applications in manufacturing
  • Proficiency in programming or scripting languages for automation (e.g., Python, JavaScript, or PLC programming)
  • Knowledge of ERP systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics) and their workflows
  • Strong understanding of factory automation equipment, network protocols, and communication standards (e.g., OPC UA, MQTT)
  • Strong collaboration and communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders

Preferred Requirements:

  • The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance
  • Strong knowledge of digital factory technologies and industry trends
  • Experience architecting native ERP systems and their requirements using Foundry or other applicable software packages
  • Experience with building, verifying, or validating complex systems and their associated reporting and data collection requirements
  • Upstream or Downstream experience relative to Manufacturing – Supply Chain, Finance, Business Development, Field Deployment, Design, etc.
  • Experience in digital and/or RF/Microwave system theory and design, including architectures, subsystems, and components to help develop, integrate, and test Radar and signal processing products and technologies
  • Experience working in a laboratory environment using logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, phase noise analyzer (PNA), spectrum analyzers, real time spectrum analyzers, and performance network analyzers to test and verify the functions of digital and RF signal circuits and subsystems

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: 85 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 September 2024 we have raised ~$240M with 8VC and Accel as leading investors. 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: $120,000 - $165,000

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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