Systems Engineer - Air Defense System

Who we are

Helsing is a defence AI company. Our mission is to protect our democracies. We aim to achieve technological leadership, so that open societies can continue to make sovereign decisions and control their ethical standards. 

As democracies, we believe we have a special responsibility to be thoughtful about the development and deployment of powerful technologies like AI. We take this responsibility seriously. 

We are an ambitious and committed team of engineers, AI specialists and customer-facing programme managers. We are looking for mission-driven people to join our European teams – and apply their skills to solve the most complex and impactful problems. We embrace an open and transparent culture that welcomes healthy debates on the use of technology in defence, its benefits, and its ethical implications. 

The role

As a Systems Engineer for C2 C-UAS, you take our command and control (C2) node from working prototype to a qualified system in the field. C-UAS means Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems: the detection and defeat of hostile drones and cruise missiles. The C2 node fuses sensor tracks, runs threat evaluation and weapon assignment (TEWA), and controls the effectors. Your job is to prove that it does this safely and reliably, and to get it approved for operational use.

You own the functional safety case and the qualification path of the C2 node. You decide which norms apply, which evidence is needed, who produces it, and how long it takes. Approval lead times, not engineering effort, often set the date of a fielding. You plan backwards from that date, so that safety, test, and certification work runs alongside development instead of after it.

This is a hands-on engineering role. You work inside a fast software and autonomy team, write requirements and safety analyses they can build against, run system-level tests yourself, and stand in the field when the system is handed over to its users. Where the system-of-systems architecture defines the network, you make sure the command node in that network can be qualified, fielded, and trusted.

The day-to-day

• Own the functional safety case for the C2 node, covering the safety-relevant functions from identification through engagement decision to effector control

• Run hazard analyses and turn their results into safety requirements, safety mechanisms, and verification evidence

• Build and maintain the norms and approvals map for the C2 node: applicable norms, required evidence, evidence owner, current status, and lead time

• Plan and run qualification of C2 hardware and software together with test centres and authorities

• Define how the autonomy level per kill-chain step and human approval of engagements are argued in the safety case, and what has to be true before autonomy is raised

• Write and execute system-level verification and test campaigns in test beds, at test ranges, and in field trials, and close findings through root-cause analysis

• Specify the safety and interface evidence the C2 node needs from sensor and effector partners, and review their qualification data

• Prepare fielding: acceptance tests, operational documentation, training input, and support for user approval and handover

You should apply if you

• Have taken a defence or safety-critical system through qualification and into operational use, ideally a C2, fire control, or air defence system

• Have hands-on experience with functional safety and system safety for defence or comparable safety-critical systems

• Have written safety cases and hazard analyses for systems with a large software share

• Know military qualification testing and how long it takes to plan and pass

• Have a strong foundation in requirements management, verification, and interface definition across hardware and software

• Are comfortable running your own system-level tests and debugging failures, not only writing documents

• Can keep pace with a fast engineering team and make the safety and qualification work an enabler, not a gate at the end

• Hold a university degree in Systems Engineering, Aerospace, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field

• Are business fluent in German and English

• Are willing to travel, including to test ranges and field trials

• Your personal values match ours: ownership, initiative, dedication to mission, speed and inclusiveness

Note: We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematically under-represented. We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all the listed qualifications; ability and impact cannot be summarised in a few bullet points.

Nice to Have

• Experience with qualification and approval processes of European armed forces, for example the Bundeswehr

• Familiarity with the safety assurance of software-heavy, AI, or autonomous functions

• Knowledge of air defence C2 concepts, TEWA, IFF, and SHORAD and V-SHORAD (Short Range and Very Short Range Air Defence) systems

Join Helsing and work with world-leading experts in their fields 

• Helsing’s work is important. You’ll be directly contributing to the protection of democratic countries while balancing both ethical and geopolitical concerns

• The work is unique. We operate in a domain that has highly unusual technical requirements and constraints, and where robustness, safety, and ethical considerations are vital. You will face unique Engineering and AI challenges that make a meaningful impact in the world

• Our work frequently takes us right up to the state of the art in technical innovation, be it reinforcement learning, distributed systems, generative AI, or deployment infrastructure. The defence industry is entering the most exciting phase of the technological development curve. Advances in our field of world are not incremental: Helsing is part of, and often leading, historic leaps forward

• In our domain, success is a matter of order-of-magnitude improvements and novel capabilities. This means we take bets, aim high, and focus on big opportunities. Despite being a relatively young company, Helsing has already been selected for multiple significant government contracts

• We actively encourage healthy, proactive, and diverse debate internally about what we do and how we choose to do it. Teams and individual engineers are trusted (and encouraged) to practise responsible autonomy and critical thinking, and to focus on outcomes, not conformity. At Helsing you will have a say in how we (and you!) work, the opportunity to engage on what does and doesn’t work, and to take ownership of aspects of our culture that you care deeply about

What we offer

• Competitive salary and VSOP options

• Relocation support: up to €2,500 and 4 weeks temporary accommodation

• Learning: €500/£450 yearly allowance

• Health & wellness: gym membership and mental health support (Nilo.health)

• Social: regular company events and monthly social allowances

• Enhanced parental leave: 22 weeks fully paid for primary caregivers & 6 weeks for secondary caregivers

• Family support: 5 days of paid family emergency leave, 100% remote work option during pregnancy and phased return to work

• A hands-on onboarding program (affectionately labelled “Infraduction”), in which you will be building tooling and applications to be used across the company. This is your opportunity to learn our tech stack, explore the company, and learn how we get things done - all whilst working with other engineering teams from day one 

Helsing is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability or gender identity. Please do not submit personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, data concerning your health, or data concerning your sexual orientation.