Communications Systems & Spectrum Compliance Lead

About this 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 .

Role Overview:

The Communications Systems & Spectrum Compliance Lead is based in El Segundo, California, and owns the technical performance and regulatory readiness of every data link CHAOS systems depend on — from point-to-point RF dishes, 5G and cellular modems, and Starlink terminals, to fiber network interconnects and MPU5 tactical radios. This role suits someone who is equally comfortable validating a link budget on a bench and researching a foreign ministry's spectrum licensing requirements ahead of a partner-nation demonstration.

Beyond sustaining today's communications architecture, this role continuously evaluates emerging communications technology — new SATCOM constellations, private 5G, mesh and ad hoc networking, software-defined radio — to strengthen the resilience of CHAOS's coherent, distributed sensor and effector networks.

You'll be the single point of accountability ensuring that every communications path — device-to-device, device-to-internet, device-to-cellular/ISP — is technically functional and legally authorized before the team departs for any demonstration or contract delivery, domestically or with a foreign partner.

Responsibilities:

• Own the technical performance of all communications systems connecting CHAOS-developed devices to each other and to external networks, including point-to-point RF/microwave dishes, 5G and cellular modems, Starlink and other SATCOM terminals, fiber network interconnects, MPU5/tactical radios, and customer mesh networks.

• Design, test, and validate link budgets, network architecture, and failover paths for each deployment configuration.

• Conduct pre-deployment communications validation, confirming every link a system depends on is functional and authorized before the team travels to a site.

• Support and troubleshoot connectivity problems, both in person in the field and remotely in collaboration with the rest of the team, to enable continuous uptime of our systems.

• Continuously evaluate emerging communications technologies — new SATCOM constellations, private 5G/O-RAN, mesh/ad hoc networking, software-defined radio, and PNT-independent comms — for applicability to coherent, distributed defense networks.

• Recommend and pilot new communications technology to reduce single points of failure and improve resilience in contested or denied environments.

• Identify and document acceptable communications protocols, frequency bands, and licensing authorities on a country-by-country basis for every location where CHAOS conducts demonstrations or deliveries.

• Research and track national cellular band allocations, carrier requirements, and roaming agreements required for CHAOS systems to operate abroad.

• Determine Starlink service availability, mobility/roaming authorization status, and any country-specific restrictions or prohibitions before scheduling a deployment.

• Identify host-nation spectrum management authority licensing and frequency coordination requirements, including deconfliction with military users when operating near or alongside foreign partners.

• Track national type-approval/equipment certification requirements (e.g., CE/RED, ANATEL, IFT, SRRC, WPC-ETA, NBTC, and equivalent national certification bodies) applicable to RF hardware carried into a country.

• Coordinate with legal and export-control teams on ITAR/EAR classification, Wassenaar Arrangement dual-use controls, and national encryption import/registration requirements for radios, dishes, and modems.

• Manage customs and temporary import documentation for communications equipment carried into a country for demonstration or delivery.

• Support diplomatic clearance, End User Certificate, and foreign partner government authorization requests tied to communications equipment.

• Maintain a living reference library of country-specific communications and spectrum requirements to support rapid deployment planning.

• Coordinate with program management, field engineering, and foreign partner points of contact to build a complete communications plan for every demonstration and delivery.

• Interface with DoD spectrum management and frequency coordination channels for domestic and OCONUS training and test events.

• Support proposal and capture teams with technical input on communications architecture and regulatory risk for new business.

• Willing to travel (typically 30–50%) to customer, test, and partner-nation sites for deployments and mission support, both CONUS and OCONUS.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, RF Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

• At least 7 years of experience in RF/wireless communications systems engineering, spectrum management, or telecommunications regulatory affairs.

• Hands-on experience with tactical radios (MPU5/SRW or similar), SATCOM terminals (Starlink or comparable), point-to-point RF/microwave links, and cellular/5G modem integration.

• Working knowledge of ITU Radio Regulations and how national spectrum authorities implement them.

• Familiarity with US export control regimes (ITAR, EAR) as applied to communications and RF hardware.

• Experience supporting international deployments, demonstrations, or Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programs.

• Ability to interpre

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