Drone Field Engineer

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 Field Engineer at Helsing, you will play a crucial role in maturing Helsing's cutting-edge military AI products from proof-of-concept to large-scale rollout.

You will be testing combined software and hardware products throughout the product development lifecycle in collaboration with world-class software and AI engineers, product managers, and end users as part of a tight iteration loop. You will ultimately help to assure Helsing’s products, to demonstrate that they are safe and reliable.

The day-to-day

• Testing combined software and hardware products end-to-end in the lab and in the field (including flying drones), capturing data, and providing feedback to Helsing’s software and AI engineers.

• Packing equipment, transporting it to the test locations (e.g., airfields), setting it up, performing tests, and then packing up at the end of the day.

• Installing AI software onto edge computing devices, using Helsing's in-house deployment tools.

• Helping to design and improve test plans and safety SOPs.

• Defining and securing the resources we need to maintain an effective and efficient field testing operation, and helping to secure them. For example, this may include purchasing hardware, trialling new software tools for inventory management and QA, establishing new secure storage facilities, and preparing safety cases and submissions to aviation authorities.

• Advising on training course design and in-service support procedures.

• Travel to other testing locations in the UK, France, Germany, and beyond.

You should apply if you

• Have a strong technical aptitude and natural curiosity. You can understand complex hardware and software products at a systems level (not necessarily at the code level). You are not satisfied until you understand how something works (or why it does not work).

• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills. You can write clear and concise documentation and speak fluently about technical concepts with engineers and non-engineers.

• Are a natural problem solver. Can independently own critical workstreams, identify problems, and take the initiative to solve them.

• Are passionate about protecting liberal democratic values by contributing to the defense and security sector.

Nice to Have

• Experience flying drones (especially fixed-wings), possession of pilot licences.

• Experience testing software and/or hardware products, at any stage of maturity (from prototype to production system).

• Experience training end users on how to use complex hardware and/or software products, or providing support to end users.

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

• A focus on outcomes, not time-tracking

• Competitive compensation and stock options

• Relocation support

• Social and education allowances

• Regular company events and all-hands to bring together employees as one team across Europe

• 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.

Helsing's Candidate Privacy and Confidentiality Regime can be found here .