---
title: 'Director, People Operations at CHAOS Industries'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-people-operations-chaos-industries-el-segundo-california-9me213dndkse'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Director, People Operations at CHAOS Industries

- **Company:** CHAOS Industries
- **Location:** El Segundo California, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-09-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/chaosindustries/jobs/5229046007

## Job 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.

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](https://www.chaosinc.com).

Role Overview:

We’re looking for a strategic, experienced Director of People Operations to lead and scale our People Operations function as we continue our rapid growth. This role owns the strategy, systems, and policy foundation behind onboarding, HR technology, benefits, employee relations, and our internal HR knowledge base — and leads the Generalist Manager and Senior Generalist roles who own day-to-day execution across the business.

You’ll be accountable for how People Operations shows up as a support function across CHAOS: the quality and consistency of the work, how easy it is for employees and managers to get what they need, the policies that govern how we operate, and the efficiency of the systems and processes behind it all. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who wants to build the systems and standards that let a growing HR team scale without losing quality.

Responsibilities:

- Lead, hire, develop, and manage the People Operations team, including the Generalists and Operators.
- Own the People Operations policy library end to end: identify where policy is needed, oversee and draft it, and shepherd it through Legal and Compliance review, rollout, and revision.
- Own the HR systems and vendor roadmap (Rippling, Sparrow, Culture Amp, Confluence, JIRA, and future tools), including vendor selection, contract negotiation/renewal, and integrations.
- Design and continuously improve how the business engages with People Operations — intake processes, response-time standards, and self-service resources like Confluence — so HR is easy to work with at every level.
- Own benefits program design and broker/vendor strategy, in partnership with Finance and leadership.
- Own & oversight of performance and compensation cycle process design, timelines, tooling
- Own the compliance training curriculum and audit standards, in partnership with Legal and InfoSec.
- Build a culture of quality and consistency across the team through documentation standards and feedback loops.
- Identify and prioritize opportunities to automate and streamline HR processes — onboarding, offboarding, leaves, and benefits administration and scale with the company.
- Own People Operations reporting and metrics in partnership with Data & Insights teams. Translate team-level data into insights and recommendations for senior leadership.
- Represent People Operations in cross-functional planning with Legal, Finance, IT, and Security.
- Work full-time onsite out of our office in Los Angeles (Hawthorne), California.

Minimum Requirements:

- 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including 3+ years directly managing HR generalists, ideally in a high-growth or startup setting.
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
- Demonstrated experience owning HR policy development end to end, including partnership with Legal/Compliance.
- Experience designing or scaling an HR service-delivery model — intake processes, SLAs, self-service resources — in a growing organization.
- Deep knowledge of U.S. employment law (especially California; multi-state required).
- Experience owning HRIS strategy and vendor management (Rippling or comparable platforms).
- Track record leading complex employee relations investigations, restructurings, or reductions in force at an executive-stakeholder level.
- Proven ability to hire, develop, and manage HR generalist/business partner teams.
- Strong executive presence; able to advise senior leadership and the executive team on sensitive, high-stakes matters.
- Strong analytical skills; comfortable owning HR metrics and reporting to leadership.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen. This position requires access to information and systems subject to U.S. export control and government contract regulations (e.g., ITAR/EAR), which are restricted to U.S. Citizens by law.

Preferred Requirements:

- SPHR or SHRM-SCP certification.
- Experience in defense, aerospace, or another regulated, security-conscious industry.
- Experience building a People Operations function from the ground up inside a scaling startup.
- Experience governing Confluence or a similar knowledge-management system at scale.
- Experience partnering with Legal/InfoSec on compliance training program design.

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

[$172,000 - $220,000]

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, 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 Industries

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: CHAOS Industries develops multi-application defense technologies, including radar, detection, and electronic warfare systems powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), to deliver domain dominance for warfighters and critical infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series D, Unicorn)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: John T. (CEO), Bo Marr (Co-founder & CTO), Brett Cummings (Co-founder & President)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Defense and Space Manufacturing
- Target customers: U.S. Department of Defense (Army, Air Force, Navy), allied governments, border protection agencies, commercial air operators
- Mission: Redefining modern defense by giving warfighters and operators the ultimate advantage through faster sensing, detection, and effects.

## Products & Services
- **Hydra Platform**: A multi-application software-defined platform providing land-based, sea-based, and air-based detection, communications, and electronic effects. It is the core operating system for CHAOS’s product portfolio.
- **VANQUISH**: A distributed early-warning radar system designed for air defense and counter-UAS (CUAS) missions. It provides long-range detection (up to 250 km) at a low cost per square kilometer ($100/km²).
- **Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™)**: The proprietary technology that enables time-synchronized networking of sensors and effectors, improving sensing, detection, and engagement capabilities across a wide area.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: $4.5 billion (as of November 2025, per Series D announcement)
- **Total Funding**: $1.002 billion across four rounds
  - Series A (March 2023): $70M led by 8VC
  - Series B (November 2024): $145M led by Accel
  - Series C (May 2025): $275M led by New Enterprise Associates and Accel
  - Series D (November 2025): $510M led by Valor Equity Partners, with continued backing from 8VC and Accel
- **Annual Revenue**: $75M (estimated)
- **Notable Investors**: Valor Equity Partners, Accel, 8VC, New Enterprise Associates, AFWERX, Overmatch Ventures
- **Key Partners**: U.S. Army (added to G‑TEAD Marketplace in December 2025)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 100% YoY (to 143 employees)
  - Active job postings increased 534.8% YoY
  - Acquired Ziva Corporation (November 2025) and CHAOS INDUSTRIES UK LIMITED
  - Added to the U.S. Army’s G‑TEAD Marketplace for accelerated acquisition
  - Expanded presence to Washington DC, San Francisco, San Diego, London, and Amman

## Competitive Advantages
- **Proprietary CDN™ Technology**: A unique time-synchronized networking approach that enables a distributed, software-defined sensor grid, replacing monolithic Cold War-era radar systems.
- **Speed to Market**: The company’s products are being added to government acquisition marketplaces (e.g., G‑TEAD) within months of launch, demonstrating rapid fielding capability.
- **Talent Density**: Strong hiring from top defense tech companies (Anduril, Palantir, Epirus, RTX, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman) and a high proportion of technical staff (36% of workforce).
- **Government Traction**: Direct integration with the U.S. Army and Air Force acquisition pathways, plus a dedicated federal lobbying team.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scaling Production**: Moving from R&D to mass production of radar and effector systems, with a focus on cost reduction ($100/km² protection).
- **International Expansion**: Building business development teams in Europe (London) and the Middle East (Amman) to capture allied defense markets.
- **Product Portfolio Diversification**: Expanding beyond radar into electronic warfare, communications, and effector systems through the Hydra platform and acquisitions.
- **Talent Acquisition**: Aggressively hiring across engineering, business development, and operations to support rapid growth.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven Work**: Employees work on “the world’s most urgent problems”—restoring American air superiority and protecting critical infrastructure.
- **Rapid Growth Trajectory**: The company has grown from a startup to a $4.5B unicorn in three years, offering significant career advancement opportunities.
- **Engineering Culture**: 36% of the workforce is in technical roles, with a focus on cutting-edge radar, signal processing, and machine learning. Key leadership includes a VP of Machine Learning.
- **Location Flexibility**: Offices in Los Angeles (HQ), Washington DC, San Francisco, San Diego, London, and Amman. Roles span multiple locations.
- **Compensation**: Employee reviews rate compensation at 4.5/5.0.
- **Veteran-Friendly**: The company actively recruits veterans.
- **Recent Departures Note**: Some senior leaders (VP ML Infra, Operations Partner) have left in early 2026, suggesting a high-intensity environment.

## Sources
1. [chaosinc.com](https://www.chaosinc.com/)
2. [Greenhouse Careers](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/chaosindustries)
3. [CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/chaos-industries)
4. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/chaosindustries)
5. [chaosinc.com/team](https://www.chaosinc.com/team)

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