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Senior Spectrum Sensing Engineer

Washington, District of Columbia, 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 proactive and detail-oriented Senior Spectrum Sensing Engineer to lead the successful development of our electromagnetic warfare product line. This role is critical to transforming our radar systems into sensing systems that detect, classify, and geolocate all RF emissions in the environment. The Senior Engineer will work with the EW Technical Fellow on the strategic planning and vision for the entire EW product line.  The Senior Engineer will utilize their existing connections throughout the community to cultivate research and development partnerships aligned with the product line vision. They will direct and contribute to the Spectrum Sensing Team in the development of algorithms, the design RF architectures, the integration of complex technologies, and the execution of field demonstrations of the technology. They will collaborate closely with Business Development (BD), Production, and other Engineering teams.

Responsibilities: 

As a key contributor to the Spectrum Sensing Team, the Senior Engineer will play an integral role in developing and redefining the passive radar system into a distributed spectrum sensing system. The day-to-day will be diverse, engaging, and intellectually stimulating, with a direct impact on pushing the boundaries of sensing technology. Key responsibilities include:

  • Develop, implement, and refine signal processing algorithms to detect, identify, and analyze RF signals
  • Develop algorithms to enhance signal geolocation accuracy, including direction finding and multilateration
  • Innovate and develop techniques utilizing coherent, distributed sensing to improve signal geolocation accuracy
  • Leverage tools like MATLAB, Python, and GNU Radio to model and simulate sensor performance
  • Assist in strategic planning and vision development for the current spectrum sensors and future RF effectors
  • Assist in developing strategic partnerships aligned with the product line vision.
  • This role will require periodic travel, up to 20% 

Minimum Requirements:

  • Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field, or a B.S. and equivalent years of experience
  • Experience in DoD, military, or other Government environment performing in a related subject area (e.g. engineering, computer science, etc.) in a fast-paced, dynamic environment  
  • 5+ years of leading or managing complex projects of a similar scope and complexity 
  • Experience working with RF sensing systems (active or passive), RF engineering, or signal processing
  • Proven track record in designing, developing, or testing RF sensing systems or subsystems such as receivers, antennas, or signal processors
  • Strong understanding of RF propagation principles and signal processing techniques (e.g., beamforming, FFT, multilateration processing)
  • Proficiency in programming languages like GNU Radio, MATLAB, Python, C++, or Simulink for modeling, simulation, and algorithm development 
  • Experience with RF components and systems, including software defined radios, transmitters, receivers, and antennas
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to clearly document technical details and present findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Must be able to work on-site 3-5 days per week in Hawthorne CA or Washington D.C. 
  • U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S.  
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance  

Preferred Requirements:  

  • D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, or a related field
  • Current U.S. security clearance  
  • Experience with tools like JIRA and Confluence  
  • Expertise in electromagnetic spectrum sensing
  • Demonstrated leadership in advanced R&D


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, casual dress code
  • Compensation Components: competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance + (coming soon!) annual bonuses
  • Company Size: 150 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!

Salary Range: $160,000 - $250,000

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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