VP of Corporate Development & Partnerships

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: 

The VP of Corporate Development and Partnerships will lead the identification, negotiation, and execution of partnerships, acquisitions, and strategic investments that accelerate CHAOS’ mission and product roadmap. This role is critical to shaping the company’s external growth strategy, connecting cutting-edge capabilities across the defense and commercial ecosystems, and turning relationships into leverage. 

You’ll join a tight-knit, high-trust team that operates at the intersection of product, engineering, and BD—helping chart the company's long-term trajectory and ensuring our strategic bets align with real operational impact. Upcoming initiatives include owning our M&A and investment pipeline, building out a partner network that unlocks new go-to-market and integration opportunities, and formalizing a repeatable process for external opportunity evaluation. 

 Responsibilities:  

• Partnership Strategy & Execution
  • Identify and structure partnerships with commercial and government-aligned technology companies, primes, and integrators. 
  • Negotiate and manage strategic alliances that accelerate go-to-market, platform integration, or mission delivery. 
  • Build deep cross-functional alignment between BD, product, legal, and engineering teams around partnership initiatives.
• Market Intelligence & Ecosystem Mapping
  • Conduct rigorous competitive and market analyses to identify white space opportunities and emerging capabilities. 
  • Track and analyze the evolving landscape of defense tech startups, enabling technologies, and acquisition targets. 
• Internal Influence & Strategic Planning
  • Work closely with Product, Engineering, and Business Development leadership to ensure corporate development activities are tightly integrated into company strategy. 
  • Prepare and present executive-level materials to inform key decisions and long-range planning.
• Mergers & Acquisitions + Investment Pipeline 
  • Own the end-to-end M&A process from deal sourcing, diligence, valuation, structuring, negotiation, and integration planning. 
  • Evaluate potential acquisitions for strategic, technical, and cultural fit; present findings to executive leadership. 
  • Develop investment theses and maintain a prioritized view of external opportunities aligned with company objectives. 

 Minimum Requirements: 

• 10+ years of experience in corporate development, strategy, venture investing, or management consulting, preferably with experience at Anduril, Palantir, or similar high-growth defense tech companies. 
• Deep familiarity with the defense and national security ecosystem (DoD, IC, DHS, FVEY, etc.). 
• Strong deal experience across partnerships, M&A, or venture investments, with a track record of closing complex transactions. 
• Exceptional analytical, strategic thinking, and communication skills. 
• Operational mindset with the ability to build process where there is none and thrive in ambiguity. 

Preferred Requirements: 

• Security clearance (active or eligible) preferred but not required. 

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: 140 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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