Data Scientist: Mission Engineering

El Segundo, CA

About the role

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 .

About

the Team: Mission Engineering at CHAOS turns simulation output into decisions. We run large-scale modeling and simulation campaigns across all warfighting domains and the full kill chain, against named threats, in operationally relevant scenarios, at the speed engineering, operational, and customer teams actually need. Every CHAOS engineering trade, pursuit, and customer engagement is anchored in rigorous, physics-based, tactically relevant, and statistically valid analysis, and we're scaling the function to meet that bar across a growing product portfolio.

About

the Role: You will own statistical methodology for the Mission Engineering team at CHAOS. You'll design experimental constructs that extract meaningful signals from broad trade studies and computationally expensive simulation runs, build the analytical pipelines

the team relies on, push the methodological state of the art on how we characterize uncertainty, build surrogate models, and communicate quantitative results to decision-makers. You will work shoulder-to-shoulder with engineers and experts in every domain to ensure that simulated, experimental, and tactical results presented by CHAOS are rigorous, reproducible, and actually deliver answers that our teams, customers, and partners need This is a foundational hire. You will have the freedom to move fast and set the standards for how CHAOS does quantitative analysis from day one.

What You'll Do: Design rigorous experimental constructs (DOE, space-filling designs, adaptive sampling, sequential experimentation) for large-scale simulation campaigns, getting maximum signal per simulation hour across operationally relevant trade spaces. Apply advanced statistical methods (such as regression modeling, Bayesian inference, surrogate/metamodeling, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, and beyond) to simulation output to produce decision-quality conclusions. Build and own scalable Python-based data pipelines for ingestion, processing, statistical analysis, and visualization of large simulation datasets. Develop ML and statistical surrogate models that accelerate analysis, enable real-time trade studies, and feed mission planning applications. Set team standards for data management, reproducibility, and statistical rigor (such as code review, methodology validation, and documentation practices). Translate operational and engineering questions into well-structured analytical approaches alongside M&S engineers, threat SMEs, and program staff. Push back when the framing is wrong. Author technical reports and briefing materials with clear, honest data visualizations; present quantitative results to senior technical and non-technical audiences in language they can act on. Mentor peers and cross-functional teams on experimental design, statistical methodology, and reproducible analysis. Support programs spanning DoD services, DARPA , intelligence community, and commercial customers. Required

Qualifications: Bachelor's degree or higher in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, a related quantitative field, or equivalent demonstrated expertise in modern statistical methodology. 7+ years applying advanced statistical and data science methods, ideally supporting defense, intelligence, or advanced technology programs. Deep working expertise in experimental design, regression and Bayesian methods, uncertainty quantification, and surrogate modeling, not just textbook familiarity. Strong proficiency working in Python, including scientific computing and ML libraries (especially Pandas, Polars, NumPy, SciPy, Scikit-Learn, Statsmodels, PyMC , Matplotlib, Seaborn, CuPy, PyTorch), and exposure to MATLAB or R. Demonstrated experience building scalable analytical pipelines for large datasets, including comfort with terabyte-scale data and modern dataframe tooling. Exceptional data visualization skills and the ability to develop briefing-quality technical products. Strong software development practices: version control, code review, reproducible workflows, and informed use of AI-assisted coding tools. Track record of working independently, taking ownership of ambiguous problems, and delivering with minimal oversight. Comfortable working with Linux operating systems and writing scalable scripts/software. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, especially in translating quantitative approaches and results for non-technical audiences. Eligibility to obtain a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information ( TS /SCI) clearance. Preferred

Qualifications: Master's or PhD in Statistics, Data Science, Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence, or a related quantitative field. Direct experience applying statistical methods to outputs from military simulations including high fidelity engineering models, war games, and engagement or mission-level combat simulations such as AFSIM , ESAMS , Brawler, or Ansys STK . Expertise designing and analyzing large-scale Monte Carlo and DOE-driven simulation campaigns supporting full kill chain or system effectiveness assessment. Experience in developing surrogate models, simulations, machine learning, or artificial intelligence models for engineering and operations analysis applications. Familiarity with sensor performance analysis (radar, EO / IR , RF , acoustic), weapon effectiveness analysis, or mission-level engagement analysis. Experience with HPC environments and distributed computing frameworks (including scalable cloud services and GPU-accelerated computing). Leadership experience: mentoring or leading project teams through complex analytical efforts. Substantial experience in communicating statistical methods to both technical and non-technical stakeholders and decisionmakers. Experience supporting rapid development programs for DoD contractors, combatant commands, research labs, and acquisition communities. Active TS /SCI clearance. 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 Salary Range: $140K-220K 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

About Chaos

Chaos Industries offers a technology portfolio centered on its Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN) architecture that enables time-synchronous sensing, detection, communications, and effects. Its flagship platform, HYDRA, harnesses the CDN framework to deliver software-defined multi-domain capabilities across land, sea, and air environments while integrating with existing infrastructure under constrained conditions. The company serves defense, government, and industrial sectors, providing scalable and mobile solutions designed for complex operational settings.

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Job details

Salary

$140,000 - $220,000

Location

El Segundo, CA

Company

NameChaos
IndustryAerospace
Team Size3

Funding

Total raised

$1B

Last stage

Series D

Investors

Valor Equity Partners
8VC
Accel
New Enterprise Associates
SStepStone Group

Founders

JT

John Tenet

Co-Founder & CEO

LinkedIn
Bo Marr

Bo Marr

Co-Founder & CTO

LinkedIn
BC

Brett Cummings

Co-Founder & CFO

What happens next.

No applications, no recruiter spam. Just the intro.

01

Confirm the fit

A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.

02

I pitch you to the company

I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.

03

A meeting lands on your calendar

If they’re a yes, I book the chat. You show up — that’s the whole job-hunt.