Human Resources Generalist

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’re looking for a hands-on, resourceful HR Generalist who thrives in a fast-moving startup environment and enjoys variety – one day improving HR workflows, the next helping managers and employees navigate benefits, onboarding, or policy questions.

You’ll partner closely with the HR Director and HR Coordinator to manage day-to-day HR operations, strengthen systems and compliance, and deliver an exceptional employee experience as we continue our rapid growth.

Responsibilities: 

• Act as a primary point of contact for daily HR inquiries and employee support.
• Maintain accurate and timely data across Rippling (HRIS, payroll, and benefits).
• Prepare reports, audits, and dashboards to ensure data accuracy and compliance.
• Coordinate onboarding, offboarding, and employee changes.
• Assist with benefits administration, open enrollment, and vendor coordination.
• Track and coordinate leaves of absence, accommodations, and employment verifications.
• Support investigations and documentation.
• Assist with the semi-annual performance and compensation review process by coordinating timelines, preparing communications and tracking tools, and assisting managers and HR throughout the review cycle.
• Support HR communications, employee surveys, and engagement initiatives.
• Work full-time onsite out of our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California.

Minimum Requirements:

• 3-5 years of progressive HR experience in a generalist or coordinator role; ideally in a high growth or startup setting
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. employment laws and HR best practices (especially California; multi-state familiarity a plus)
• Demonstrated experience supporting HR operations such as onboarding, benefits administration, employee relations, and compliance tracking.
• Proficiency with HRIS systems; able to manage transactions, workflows, and audits with high accuracy.
• Hands-on experience managing leave of absence cases end-to-end, including FMLA/CFRA, short- and long-term disability, and company-paid parental leave programs that require top-off payment calculations and benefits integration.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills; able to build trust with employees and managers across all levels.
• Proven ability to handle confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail; able to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfort with spreadsheets, HR reporting, and data integrity checks in Excel.
• Team-oriented mindset with proactive, solutions-focused approach.

Preferred Requirements:

• Hands-on experience with Rippling.
• Experience coordinating benefits renewals and open enrollment.
• Exposure to or involvement in performance reviews and compensation cycles.
• Familiarity with leave administration (FMLA, CFRA, PFL).
• Interest in scaling HR processes and improving employee experience within a startup.

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!

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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