UAS Pilot/Flight Test & Mission Operator

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: The UAS Pilot/Flight Test & Mission Operator is based in El Segundo, California, and supports the full lifecycle of unmanned aircraft operations at CHAOS — from development, verification, validation, and production acceptance testing through fielded customer missions, demonstrations, and operational deployments. This role suits someone who thrives in dynamic, hands-on environments, is equally comfortable in a structured test-range setting and an unpredictable field deployment, and can move fluidly between rigorous test-card execution and customer-facing mission support. The role requires the ability to fly Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 UAS platforms across a range of airframe types and propulsion systems — including fixed-wing, VTOL, multirotor, turbine, and electric ducted fan (EDF) aircraft, among others. Depending on qualification and assignment, the operator may serve as Remote Pilot in Command, Pilot at the Controls, Ground Control Station Operator, Visual Observer, Test Conductor, Payload/Sensor Operator, Range Safety Observer, Mission Coordinator, or Test Technician. You'll be embedded with customers and engineering teams alike, integrating CHAOS systems into existing infrastructure and ensuring reliability under real-world conditions. Beyond flying and mission support, this role carries direct ownership of the aircraft itself — building, maintaining, and repairing UAS airframes and subsystems, including composite structural repair, so platforms stay mission-ready in the field and at the range. Responsibilities: • Review flight-test plans, test cards, mission objectives, engineering requirements, aircraft limitations, risk assessments, airspace/site conditions, and success, abort, and go/no-go criteria. • Participate in test-readiness reviews, safety reviews, preflight briefings, post-mission debriefs, and lessons-learned activities. • Coordinate with flight-test engineers, software and mechanical engineers, avionics personnel, maintainers, range personnel, program managers, and customer stakeholders. • Prepare and inspect aircraft, payloads, batteries, propulsion components, ground control stations, communications equipment, and support systems; verify configuration against approved test or mission documentation. • Perform preflight functional checks of flight controls, navigation, propulsion, power, command-and-control links, payloads, sensors, contingency modes, and data-acquisition systems. • Operate across Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 UAS platforms as assigned — including fixed-wing, VTOL, multirotor, turbine, EDF, and other propulsion systems — adapting procedures, checklists, and risk controls to the size, weight, speed, and complexity of each class of aircraft. • Execute test cards or mission plans within approved operating limitations, making clear callouts for aircraft state, test-point or mission status, hazards, anomalies, and abort conditions. • Maintain situational awareness of aircraft position, airspeed, altitude, heading, telemetry, battery condition, airspace, personnel, obstacles, and environmental conditions throughout flight. • Initiate hold, abort, contingency, or emergency actions whenever unexpected behavior, configuration discrepancies, or uncontrolled hazards occur. • Operate electro-optical, infrared, mapping, or other mission and inspection payloads when qualified, and verify collected data meets test or mission requirements. • Record test-point completion, mission results, operator observations, aircraft behavior, timing, and deviations from expected performance; preserve and annotate telemetry, video, flight logs, and instrumentation data. • Prepare discrepancy reports, anomaly reports, test summaries, flight logs, maintenance notifications, and production-acceptance or mission-deliverable records. • Support troubleshooting, fault isolation, regression testing, and hardware/software-in-the-loop testing, and provide operator feedback on handling qualities, human-machine interfaces, and procedures. • Protect customer information and maintain data integrity during collection, transfer, storage, and delivery. • Maintain accountability for aircraft, tools, batteries, spares, vehicles, and field-support equipment. • Build, assemble, and configure UAS airframes and subsystems from component and kit-level parts, including structural, propulsion, avionics, and payload integration. • Perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of UAS airframes, propulsion systems, control surfaces, wiring harnesses, and payload mounts. • Inspect, repair, and fabricate composite structures (carbon fiber, fiberglass, and sandwich-core panels) using lay-up, bonding, patch-repair, and finishing techniques appropriate to airframe requirements. • Diagnose structural and material damage (delamination, cracking, impact damage) and determine appropriate repair, rework, or scrap disposition in accordance with engineering guidance. • Document build configurations, repair actions, materials used, and cure/inspection records to maintain airframe traceability and configuration control. • Willing to travel (typically 50%+) to customer and test sites for deployments, troubleshooting, and mission support, both CONUS and OCONUS. Minimum Requirements: • High school diploma or equivalent. • Current FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a Small UAS Rating, or ability to obtain one before conducting independent operations. • At least two years of UAS operations, flight testing, aviation maintenance, avionics, military aviation, robotics testing, or comparable technical experience. • Demonstrated ability to configure, inspect, and safely operate remotely piloted aircraft across fixed-wing, multirotor, rotary-wing, or hybrid platforms, including transmitter/receiver setup, flight-mode programming, command-and-control links, and failsafe configuration. • Ability to fly Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 UAS platforms, with demonstrated proficiency across fixed-wing, VTOL, multirotor, turbine, EDF, and other propulsion systems, and transitioning between aircraft of different sizes, weights, and performance envelopes. • Ability to interpret test plans, test cards, mission plans, engineering drawings, technical manuals, checklists, and aircraft limitations. • Working knowledge of aircraft systems, flight controls, propulsion, electrical systems, navigation, communications, telemetry, airspace, and aviation weather. • Strong technical writing, observation, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to remain calm and make clear safety callouts under abnormal or emergency conditions. • Demonstrated experience building, maintaining, and repairing UAS or model-aircraft airframes and subsystems, including propulsion, wiring, and structural components. • Working knowledge of composite materials (carbon fiber, fiberglass, foam-core) and basic repair techniques such as bonding, patching, and lay-up appropriate to small unmanned aircraft. • Ability to safely use hand tools, power tools, and basic fabrication or repair equipment in a shop or field-maintenance environment. • Valid driver's license and ability to travel to remote test and customer locations, including outdoor work in varying terrain and weather. • Ability to satisfy customer, program, export-control, background, and drug-testing requirements applicable to assigned work. • Must currently hold, or be able to obtain and maintain, a U.S. security clearance. Preferred Requirements: • Associate or bachelor's degree in aerospace, aviation, engineering technology, unmanned systems, electronics, geography/surveying, or a related field. • Three or more years of flight-test, UAS, experimental-aircraft, developmental-testing, or fielded-mission experience across multiple aircraft configurations. • Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, Mission Planner, QGroundControl, ATAK, or comparable flight and ground-control software. • Experience with electro-optical, infrared, LiDAR, multispectral, mapping, or other stabilized mission payloads. • Knowledge of test-readiness reviews, test-card discipline, envelope expansion, requirements verification, and configuration management. • Familiarity with controlled-airspace, night, operations-over-people, waiver-supported, or beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations. • Familiarity with Jira, Confluence, Git, MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, or other engineering and issue-tracking tools. • Military UAS operator, air vehicle operator, instructor/standardization operator, test pilot, or flight-test engineering background. • Experience operating under a Safety Management System, AS9100, or formal configuration/quality-management process. • Formal training or hands-on experience in composite fabrication and repair (carbon fiber, fiberglass, sandwich-core structures), such as composite-repair coursework, aerospace manufacturing, or model-aircraft/RC fabrication background. • Experience building or scratch-fabricating fixed-wing, multirotor, or hybrid UAS airframes, including 3D printing, CNC, or composite lay-up techniques. • Experience with structural repair documentation, non-destructive inspection methods, or airframe damage assessment. Required Competencies: • Procedural discipline, test-card and checklist execution, configuration awareness, technical observation, and anomaly recognition. • Aeronautical decision-making, crew resource management, risk management, and situational awareness. • Cross-functional communication, technical troubleshooting, and professional customer-facing presence. • Accurate technical documentation, attention to detail, composure under pressure, and willingness to exercise stop-work authority. • Hands-on mechanical aptitude for airframe build, maintenance, and composite structural repair. Physical & Work Requirements: • Work at flight-test ranges, airports, laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and remote/outdoor field sites in variable weather and terrain. • Stand, walk, kneel, or remain at a control station for extended periods; lift or carry up to 50 pounds with or without reasonable accommodation. • Manipulate tools, connectors, batteries, aircraft components, computers, and ground-support equipment; wear required personal protective equipment. • Work early mornings, evenings, nights, weekends, or extended test/mission windows, and travel for multi-day campaigns. 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: 350 employees and counting across 5 global offices Salary Range: $130,000-$180,000 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, inclu…