Back to jobs
New

Hardware-in-the-Loop Engineer

Hawthorne, California, United States

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and stay ahead of evolving threats. 

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.

Role Overview: 

CHAOS is seeking a skilled Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Engineer to join our hardware engineering team. In this role, you will design, build, and maintain HIL simulation environments that enable full system integration testing of our Effector platforms — bridging the gap between software development and flight hardware. You will work closely with GNC, software, and systems engineers to ensure our vehicles are thoroughly validated before ever leaving the ground. 

The ideal candidate has hands-on experience building and operating HIL or SIL simulation environments for embedded or autonomous systems. 

This is a full-time, on-site position in Hawthorne, CA. 

 
Responsibilities: 

  • Design and develop HIL test benches for full effector system integration, including flight controllers, ESCs, sensors, and ground control systems 
  • Integrate high-fidelity simulation models (flight dynamics, actuator, and sensor models) that accurately replicate real-world behavior 
  • Integrate hardware components - including autopilot boards, communication links, power systems, and peripherals - into HIL systems 
  • Develop automated test suites and regression frameworks to validate software and firmware changes against HIL environments 
  • Collaborate with software and integration/test engineers to define test plans and acceptance criteria for new features and hardware releases 
  • Debug complex hardware-software interactions by analyzing HIL test data, logs, and telemetry 
  • Maintain and improve test infrastructure, including simulation software, real-time targets, and data acquisition systems 
  • Document test methodologies, procedures, and results clearly for cross-functional team use 
  • Support transition of HIL-validated systems to integration and flight test phases 

 

Minimum Requirements: 

  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. 
  • 3+ years of experience in hardware-in-the-loop testing, embedded systems integration, or a closely related discipline 
  • Hands-on experience building and operating HIL or SIL simulation environments for embedded or autonomous systems 
  • Proficiency in real-time simulation platforms (e.g., dSPACE, NI VeriStand, or similar) 
  • Strong programming skills in Python and/or C/C++ for test automation and system scripting 
  • Familiarity with flight controller software such as PX4, ArduPilot, or equivalent 
  • Experience with communication protocols common in drone systems (MAVLink, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C) 
  • Solid understanding of effector system architecture, including propulsion, navigation, and control loops 
  • Experience with version control systems and CI/CD pipelines for automated testing 
  • Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills across hardware and software domains 
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance 

 

Preferred Requirements: 

  • Master’s degree in Engineering 
  • Experience with ROS or ROS 2 for simulation and integration testing 
  • Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink for flight dynamics or control system modeling 
  • Exposure to flight test operations and transitioning systems from HIL to field testing 
  • Experience with FPGA firmware development or embedded Linux environments 
  • Knowledge of RF systems, GPS signal simulation, or sensor fusion techniques 
  • FAA Part 107 certification or equivalent UAV operational credentials 


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, ‘No meeting Fridays’, 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: 250 employees and counting across 5 global offices
$130k-190k

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.

 

#LI-onsite

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at CHAOS Industries? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Please note this position does not necessarily require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. 

Select...

EXPORT CONTROLS - This position may require access to information and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Your responses to the questions below will be used solely to determine your eligibility under U.S. law to receive information and materials subject to U.S. export controls.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in CHAOS Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.