> AI agents: this is one page of Nextmove’s FDE site, in Markdown. Nextmove is a job board and free career service for forward deployed engineers (FDEs). Each posting is classified from its text, not its title: the kind of work, how much of it is production code, pre-sales weight, time at customer sites, travel, remote arrangement, level and posted base pay. The site also publishes the aggregates: median pay by level, metro, company and kind of work, and which companies started hiring FDEs each week. Every page under https://nextmove.md/fde is served this way; the index of pages is https://nextmove.md/llms.txt. # Production Software Engineer Canonical URL: https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/9f28faf3f87076e3 CHAOS Industries posts a FDE role to build for teams inside the company in El Segundo, CA, at $120,000–$210,000 base, below the staff+ FDE median of $225,000 across 388 postings with pay. Production Software Engineer responsible for building and operating Python services that unify manufacturing, shop-floor, test, and enterprise data across factory networks. Read from the employer’s posting on November 8, 2026. - [CHAOS Industries](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/chaos-industries) Posted Oct 7, 2026 by CHAOS Industries · open on Greenhouse as of Nov 8, 2026 **$120,000–$210,000** *annualized* El Segundo, CA On-site Full-time Production Software Engineer responsible for building and operating Python services that unify manufacturing, shop-floor, test, and enterprise data across factory networks. - [See roles that fit me](https://nextmove.md/sign-up?from=%2Ffde%2Fjobs%2F9f28faf3f87076e3&placement=top) - [View posting at CHAOS Industries](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/chaosindustries/jobs/5257703007) Free. Upload your resume once, see why each FDE role fits, and get introduced only when you say so. ## At a glance ### Posted base pay $120K–$210K Below the median Midpoint $165K · median $225K This job $120K to $210K. Staff+ FDE postings, 388 postings: the middle 50% of posted pay is $197K to $262K, median $225K. ### The work Builds for teams inside the company Balance **Mostly building** Project stages 1. Pre-sales (not covered) 2. Proof of concept (not covered) 3. Implementation 4. Operations - **Coding**: Writes production code - **Builds for**: Internal teams - **Level**: Staff+ - **Role**: Individual contributor ### What they ask for Experience - **5+ years** professional software engineering experience with end-to-end system ownership Background - **Software engineering** ### Do you meet what the posting states? The posting asks for 5+ years. How many do you have? The posting reads as a staff-level role. What level are you at now? The job is in El Segundo, CA. Could you work there? Which of these have you used in production? Answer each one. Nothing is saved or sent. [What postings ask for, by background →](https://nextmove.md/fde/paths) ## Conditions - **Location**: El Segundo, CA - **Work arrangement**: On-site - **Employment type**: Full-time - **Pay**: ## More like this [Ingram Micro](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/ingram-micro) ### [Senior Agentic AI Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/f69d8e7f36f47d97) Irvine, CA 3mo ago $112,200–$190,700 [Anduril](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/anduril) ### [Senior Full-Stack Software Engineer (ArsenalOS Deployment)](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/523dce50ac5483f6) Santa Ana, CA 3w ago $191,000–$253,000 [Prologis](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/prologis) ### [Lead Forward Deployed Engineer](https://nextmove.md/fde/jobs/b5974981b5313d0c) Denver, CO · Atlanta, GA · +8 more 6w ago $200,000–$285,000 - [Other jobs at CHAOS Industries (1)](https://nextmove.md/fde/companies/chaos-industries) ## The job description from CHAOS Industries Posted by CHAOS Industries on Oct 7, 2026 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, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com. ### Role Overview - Design, build, and own the tools and services that pull data from dispersed production sources, organize it into a cohesive system, and make it usable across the factory. - Work across manufacturing areas, talking to machines and systems on different networks. - Turn one-off operational asks into durable software other people can actually use. - Write Python services against the existing codebase, deploy them in containers, and help set engineering practices for a growing manufacturing software team. - Operate as a high-ownership, on-site engineer in Los Angeles, CA, partnering closely with Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Engineering, and IT. ### Responsibilities ### Data Services & Systems Integration - Design and build Python services that ingest, organize, and store manufacturing data from dispersed shop-floor, test, and enterprise sources in mixed formats, then present it as a coherent system others can rely on. - Integrate manufacturing software with the broader systems ecosystem (MES, ERP, QMS, PLM, and data platforms) so production data is trustworthy, queryable, and usable end to end. ### Tooling & Adoption - Turn ad-hoc production and operations requests into reusable tools with clear interfaces, documentation, and a path to adoption — not one-off scripts. - Design systems that can scale with production growth and are straightforward for operators, technicians, and engineers to adopt. ### Factory Networks & Device Connectivity - Write software that communicates with devices and services across factory networks, including multiple subnets and VLANs. - Debug connectivity, routing, and interface issues when they arise. ### Infrastructure & Deployment - Containerize services with Docker (or equivalent), run your own code in containers, and integrate with software already running in containerized environments. - Deploy and operate services in a major cloud environment (Azure, AWS, or equivalent), including the networking, storage, and runtime pieces those systems depend on. ### Engineering Practice & Cross-Functional Partnership - Establish practical engineering standards for the manufacturing software team: system design, code quality, CI/CD, and maintainability. - Partner with manufacturing, quality, and production engineering to understand how data is generated on the floor and how it should flow into downstream tools. ### Minimum Requirements - Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related STEM field, or equivalent hands-on experience. - 5+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a track record of owning systems end to end. - Strong Python software development experience. - Hands-on experience building and operating software in a major cloud environment (Azure, AWS, or equivalent). - Demonstrated system design skills: you plan beyond the immediate ask and ship tools that scale and get adopted. - Experience organizing data from multiple sources and formats into a usable storage, access, and application layer. - Working knowledge of computer networking fundamentals as they apply to software you write — IP addressing, routing, subnetting, VLANs, and talking to devices across those networks. - Practical Docker (or equivalent container) experience: packaging your own services and integrating with containerized runtimes. - Working Linux fluency: enough to operate comfortably in a Linux environment day to day (command line, services, logs, permissions, basic networking). - Familiarity with modern CI/CD practices and tooling such as Jenkins, Artifactory, or equivalent. - Fluency with modern AI-assisted engineering tools (e.g. Cursor, Claude, ChatGPT) as part of day-to-day development. - Ability to work across factory functions and communicate clearly with both engineers and non-engineers. - U.S. citizenship is required: this role accesses export-controlled information and requires a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secret security clearance — current, or the ability to obtain and maintain one. ### Preferred Requirements - Experience in aerospace, defense, manufacturing, or a high-growth startup environment. - Experience with Palantir Foundry. - Familiarity with the categories of systems we operate — MES/MOM, ERP, QMS, CRM, and modern data/ontology platforms. - JavaScript / TypeScript, or a willingness to work across the stack when a factory tool needs a usable interface. - Experience with production-level software development and deployment, including DevOps / DevSecOps practices. - Experience supporting digital manufacturing, factory automation, or shop-floor / OT–IT systems. - Experience guiding other engineers on software design, code quality, and delivery practices. - Active U.S. Department of Defense Secret or Top Secret security 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 while you're working onsite, fully-stocked kitchen, 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: **500+ employees and counting across 5 global offices ### Salary range: $120k - $210k *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. [View posting at CHAOS Industries](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/chaosindustries/jobs/5257703007) ## About CHAOS Industries Builds distributed radar and timing networks that help military, border, and air-operations users detect, track, and respond to drones and missile threats faster. 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