Staff Thermal Engineer

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, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.
Role Overview:
CHAOS is seeking a Staff Thermal Engineer to perform thermal and fluid-flow analysis of electronic components, circuit card assemblies (CCAs), and electronic enclosures. The role spans design trades, detailed analysis, hardware integration, qualification, and production support.
You will analyze heat transfer and internal fluid flow, including air and liquid coolants in cabinets, coldplates, and heat exchangers. You will work closely with electrical and mechanical designers, providing technical guidance to improve thermal performance and resolve design challenges. You will plan and support tests, perform data reduction, and correlate thermal models with test results.
This is a full-time, on-site position in El Segundo, CA.
This requisition is open to candidates who may be considered for a lower or higher job level. Final level and grade will be determined based on relevant experience, skills, and qualifications.
Responsibilities:
Perform hand calculations and detailed thermal analyses of electronic components, CCAs, and enclosures
Develop and use ANSYS Icepak models for electronics cooling and internal air and liquid coolant flow
Analyze cooling systems that include cabinets, coldplates, heat exchangers, and related hardware
Assess temperatures, flow distribution, pressure drop, and thermal margins across expected operating conditions
Define model inputs, assumptions, and boundary conditions, and communicate their effect on results
Provide practical thermal design guidance to electrical and mechanical designers
Identify thermal risks and recommend design changes in collaboration with multidisciplinary teams
Participate in design and peer reviews
Plan and support thermal tests, analyze test data, and correlate models with test results
Support board and system bring-up, qualification, troubleshooting, and production issues
Document analysis methods, assumptions, results, and recommendations
Minimum Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related STEM field and 7+ years of relevant experience
Hands-on experience performing electronics thermal analysis using ANSYS Icepak
Strong working knowledge of heat transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics
Experience analyzing thermal performance of electronic components, circuit boards, or enclosures
Ability to perform engineering hand calculations and assess when detailed simulation is needed
Experience analyzing liquid-cooled coldplates and heat exchangers
Experience with forced-air cooling, flow distribution, pressure-drop analysis, and fan performance
Strong technical communication skills and ability to work independently across engineering disciplines
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance