Industrial Designer

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 an  Industrial Designer  to shape the physical and human-facing aspects of our next-generation dual-use systems – spanning mounted and dismounted sensor platforms, ground-based vehicles, and airborne effectors.   In this role, you will define and drive industrial design vision across hardware and user-facing systems, balancing real-world operational constraints with a cohesive product identity. You will work closely with hardware, software, and user interface teams to ensure our products are not only high-performing, but intuitive, durable, and thoughtfully designed for the environments in which they operate.   This role sits at the intersection of  industrial design, human factors, and product strategy – bridging the gap be tween engineering-driven development and user-centered design.   The ideal candidate is a hands-on, build-and-ship designer (not purely studio-based), with experience designing ruggedized products for demanding environments such as military, aerospace, or industrial applications.     This is a full-time, on-site position in Los Angeles, CA, with ~20% travel for field testing and user interaction.   Responsibilities:   Define and drive the industrial design vision across a portfolio of dual-use products, ensuring alignment with brand, usability, and mission requirements   Translate complex system requirements into intuitive physical form factors, layouts, and user interactions   Design for real-world use cases, including deployment, transport, setup, maintenance, and operation in austere environments   Collaborate with hardware, software, and UI teams to ensure a cohesive end-to-end user experience across physical and digital interfaces   Develop concepts, mockups, and prototypes (low- to high-fidelity) to rapidly iterate on form, ergonomics, and usability   Guide trade studies between performance, size, usability, and visual design, helping the organization make intentional design decisions   Influence product architecture early to improve usability, serviceability, and operator efficiency   Ensure designs account for ruggedization, environmental exposure, and manufacturability, in collaboration with mechanical engineering   Partner with marketing, growth, and brand design groups to develop the CHAOS brand language through physical representations of new products   Create conceptual design proposals for new products and mission types   Provide design direction and critique across teams to maintain consistency and quality   Participate in field testing and user engagement, incorporating feedback from operators into iterative design improvements   Help evolve a design language that balances high-performance systems with a disciplined, mission-appropriate aesthetic   What Success Looks Like:   Products that are easier to deploy, operate, and maintain in the field   Clear, intentional tradeoffs between performance and usability   A recognizable and consistent design language aligned with brand image   Strong alignment between engineering, product vision, and user needs   Designs that balance visual quality with mission appropriateness - modern without being ornamental   Minimum Requirements:   Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design or related field   5+ years of experience in industrial design, with a focus on ruggedized, outdoor, or mission-critical products   Demonstrated experience taking products from concept through production   Strong portfolio showcasing shipped products (military, aerospace, industrial, automotive, or adjacent fields preferred)   Experience designing for real-world use - including ergonomics, human factors, and operational workflows   Ability to create and communicate design intent through sketches, renderings, prototypes, and storytelling   Working knowledge of DFMA and manufacturing constraints, with the ability to collaborate effectively with mechanical engineers and manufacturing process engineers   Understanding of environmental and durability considerations (e.g., weather exposure, handling, transport, field use)   Strong cross-functional collaboration skills with engineering, product, and leadership teams   Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance   Preferred Requirements:   Experience designing military or defense-adjacent systems, or products used in harsh environments   Exposure to mounted/dismounted systems, sensor platforms, or vehicle-integrated products   Familiarity with human-machine interface design across both physical and digital systems   Experience working with rapid prototyping tools (3D printing, shop tools, etc.)   Previous experience building high fidelity visual models, developing guidance documents and communicating with build vendors   Familiarity speccing color, material, and finish for mass-produced products   Proficiency with common industrial design tools - Solidworks, Keyshot, Adobe Suite, Figma, and engineering PDM software   Experience conducting or supporting user research, field studies, or operator interviews   Experience designing MIL-Spec products   Active U.S. security clearance   Why CHAOS? Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision