{"id":3082993,"url":"https://alion.io/job/chaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator","title":"UAS Pilot/Flight Test & Mission Operator","company":{"id":449716,"name":"CHAOS Industries","domain":"chaosinc.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/chaos-industries","size_band":"201-500","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":84,"open_postings":11,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0.455,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":60,"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"}},"role":"Aerospace","role_family":"Aerospace","seniority":"junior","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["El Segundo, United States","Los Angeles, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":130000,"max":180000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":180000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":2,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"ArduPilot","optional":false},{"name":"AS9100","optional":false},{"name":"Confluence","optional":false},{"name":"Git","optional":false},{"name":"Jira","optional":false},{"name":"MATLAB","optional":false},{"name":"Mission Planner","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"QGroundControl","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-10-22T09:45:07Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-22","last_verified_at":"2026-11-05T09:23:45Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":14,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":14},"description":"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. \nCHAOS 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.\nRole Overview:\nThe 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.\nDepending 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.\nBeyond 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.\nResponsibilities:\nReview flight-test plans, test cards, mission objectives, engineering requirements, aircraft limitations, risk assessments, airspace/site conditions, and success, abort, and go/no-go criteria.\nParticipate in test-readiness reviews, safety reviews, preflight briefings, post-mission debriefs, and lessons-learned activities.\nCoordinate with flight-test engineers, software and mechanical engineers, avionics personnel, maintainers, range personnel, program managers, and customer stakeholders.\nPrepare and inspect aircraft, payloads, batteries, propulsion components, ground control stations, communications equipment, and support systems; verify configuration against approved test or mission documentation.\nPerform preflight functional checks of flight controls, navigation, propulsion, power, command-and-control links, payloads, sensors, contingency modes, and data-acquisition systems.\nOperate 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.\nExecute 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.\nMaintain situational awareness of aircraft position, airspeed, altitude, heading, telemetry, battery condition, airspace, personnel, obstacles, and environmental conditions throughout flight.\nInitiate hold, abort, contingency, or emergency actions whenever unexpected behavior, configuration discrepancies, or uncontrolled hazards occur.\nOperate electro-optical, infrared, mapping, or other mission and inspection payloads when qualified, and verify collected data meets test or mission requirements.\nRecord 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.\nPrepare discrepancy reports, anomaly reports, test summaries, flight logs, maintenance notifications, and production-acceptance or mission-deliverable records.\nSupport troubleshooting, fault isolation, regression testing, and hardware/software-in-the-loop testing, and provide operator feedback on handling qualities, human-machine interfaces, and procedures.\nProtect customer information and maintain data integrity during collection, transfer, storage, and delivery.\nMaintain accountability for aircraft, tools, batteries, spares, vehicles, and field-support equipment.\nBuild, assemble, and configure UAS airframes and subsystems from component and kit-level parts, including structural, propulsion, avionics, and payload integration.\nPerform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of UAS airframes, propulsion systems, control surfaces, wiring harnesses, and payload mounts.\nInspect, 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.\nDiagnose structural and material damage (delamination, cracking, impact damage) and determine appropriate repair, rework, or scrap disposition in accordance with engineering guidance.\nDocument build configurations, repair actions, materials used, and cure/inspection records to maintain airframe traceability and configuration control.\n Willing to travel (typically 50%+) to customer and test sites for deployments, troubleshooting, and mission support, both CONUS and OCONUS.\nMinimum Requirements:\nHigh school diploma or equivalent.\nCurrent FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a Small UAS Rating, or ability to obtain one before conducting independent operations.\nAt least two years of UAS operations, flight testing, aviation maintenance, avionics, military aviation, robotics testing, or comparable technical experience.\nDemonstrated 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.\nAbility 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.\nAbility to interpret test plans, test cards, mission plans, engineering drawings, technical manuals, checklists, and aircraft limitations.\nWorking knowledge of aircraft systems, flight controls, propulsion, electrical systems, navigation, communications, telemetry, airspace, and aviation weather.\nStrong technical writing, observation, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to remain calm and make clear safety callouts under abnormal or emergency conditions.\nDemonstrated experience building, maintaining, and repairing UAS or model-aircraft airframes and subsystems, including propulsion, wiring, and structural components.\nWorking 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.\nAbility to safely use hand tools, power tools, and basic fabrication or repair equipment in a shop or field-maintenance environment.\nValid driver's license and ability to travel to remote test and customer locations, including outdoor work in varying terrain and weather.\nAbility to satisfy customer, program, export-control, background, and drug-testing requirements applicable to assigned work.\nMust currently hold, or be able to obtain and maintain, a U.S. security clearance.\nPreferred Requirements:\nAssociate or bachelor's degree in aerospace, aviation, engineering technology, unmanned systems, electronics, geography/surveying, or a related field.\nThree or more years of flight-test, UAS, experimental-aircraft, developmental-testing, or fielded-mission experience across multiple aircraft configurations.\nExperience with PX4, ArduPilot, Mission Planner, QGroundControl, ATAK, or comparable flight and ground-control software.\nExperience with electro-optical, infrared, LiDAR, multispectral, mapping, or other stabilized mission payloads.\nKnowledge of test-readiness reviews, test-card discipline, envelope expansion, requirements verification, and configuration management.\nFamiliarity with controlled-airspace, night, operations-over-people, waiver-supported, or beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations.\nFamiliarity with Jira, Confluence, Git, MATLAB, Python, LabVIEW, or other engineering and issue-tracking tools.\nMilitary UAS operator, air vehicle operator, instructor/standardization operator, test pilot, or flight-test engineering background.\nExperience operating under a Safety Management System, AS9100, or formal configuration/quality-management process.\nFormal 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.\nExperience building or scratch-fabricating fixed-wing, multirotor, or hybrid UAS airframes, including 3D printing, CNC, or composite lay-up techniques.\nExperience with structural repair documentation, non-destructive inspection methods, or airframe damage assessment.\nRequired Competencies:\nProcedural discipline, test-card and checklist execution, configuration awareness, technical observation, and anomaly recognition.\nAeronautical decision-making, crew resource management, risk management, and situational awareness.\nCross-functional communication, technical troubleshooting, and professional customer-facing presence.\nAccurate technical documentation, attention to detail, composure under pressure, and willingness to exercise stop-work authority.\nHands-on mechanical aptitude for airframe build, maintenance, and composite structural repair.\nPhysical & Work Requirements:\nWork at flight-test ranges, airports, laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and remote/outdoor field sites in variable weather and terrain.\nStand, walk, kneel, or remain at a control station for extended periods; lift or carry up to 50 pounds with or without reasonable accommodation.\nManipulate tools, connectors, batteries, aircraft components, computers, and ground-support equipment; wear required personal protective equipment.\nWork early mornings, evenings, nights, weekends, or extended test/mission windows, and travel for multi-day campaigns.\n\nWhy CHAOS?\nHealth Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company\n Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more\nOur Perks: Free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO, casual dress code\n Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses\nTeam Growth: 350 employees and counting across 5 global offices\n Salary Range: $130,000-$180,000\nThe 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. \nRecruiting...","description_format":"text","description_chars":12147,"description_truncated":true,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":2,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"high_school","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["401k plan","Annual bonuses","Equity","Life insurance","Relocation assistance","Unlimited PTO"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":["C4ISR","Defense Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-22T12:52:43Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":90,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.903,"p_room":1,"age_days":13,"expected_fill_days":60,"reasons":["conf:1","velocity","win:early","comp:junior,brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-05T05:54:30Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":180000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/chaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/chaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-05T11:21:55Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":14638,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-06T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":449716},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=449716"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fchaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fchaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fchaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/chaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fchaos-industries-uas-pilotflight-test-mission-operator"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":3082993}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"chaosinc.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":3082993},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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