---
title: 'Payroll Clerk at CHAOS Industries'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/payroll-clerk-chaos-industries-el-segundo-california-62ynprs6b7q8'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-11'
---

# Payroll Clerk at CHAOS Industries

- **Company:** CHAOS Industries
- **Location:** El Segundo California, United States
- **Posted:** 2026-08-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-11
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/chaosindustries/jobs/5216995007

## 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 detail-oriented Payroll Clerk that excels in dynamic, fast-paced environments. This role will be integral in supporting day-to-day payroll operations. The ideal candidate thrives in navigating ambiguity and balancing competing priorities while maintaining a consistently high standard for accuracy and precision.

Responsibilities:

- Support processing of biweekly/semi-monthly payroll runs across multiple U.S. states and entities using Rippling, ensuring accuracy of hours, earnings, deductions, and tax withholdings
- Support onboarding of new hires into the payroll system, including manual processing for edge cases (e.g., onboarding blocks, new-market entries) when needed
- Assist with timecard review and non-compliance follow-up, escalating patterns to the Payroll Manager with supporting documentation
- Help maintain compliance across ~19 U.S. states plus U.K. and EOR jurisdictions, including staying current on state-specific wage and hour rules (e.g., California flat-sum bonus overtime recalculation, PFL withholding)
- Support reconciliation of payroll data across systems (Rippling, Greenhouse, NetSuite) to support accurate GL postings and downstream reporting
- Support benefits and deduction administration, including FSA/HSA elections and termination-related final pay calculations
- Respond to employee payroll inquiries with professionalism and discretion
- Assist with special projects, including data cleanup and formatting for reporting/data warehouse initiatives
- Maintain organized, audit-ready payroll documentation and records

Minimum Requirements:

- 3-5 years of payroll processing experience (multi-state a plus)
- Familiarity with payroll/HRIS platforms (Rippling experience strongly preferred)
- Working knowledge of payroll fundamentals: wage and hour law, tax withholding basics, deduction priority ordering
- Strong Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, basic data cleanup)
- High attention to detail and comfort working with sensitive, confidential data
- Clear written communication skills for employee-facing correspondence
- Ability to work independently while flagging issues proactively

Preferred Requirements:

- Exposure to international or EOR payroll
- Experience with NetSuite
- Experience with Rippling
- Interest in data analysis or BI tools (Power BI, SQL)

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

Hourly Rate: $37 - $44/hour

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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