Lead Systems Engineer – Military Communications

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

We are developing an advanced airborne platform with secure tactical communication and networking capabilities. We are looking for an experienced engineer to define and integrate tactical datalinks and airborne communication systems.

The day-to-day

• Define tactical communications and datalink architectures.

• Integrate Link 16, MIDS/JTRS terminals and associated platform interfaces.

• Support integration of further tactical links such as Link 22, JREAP and VMF.

• Define requirements for antennas, radios, crypto equipment, mission computers and network-management functions.

• Perform link-budget, coverage, latency, throughput, interoperability and co-site interference analyses.

• Ensure compliance with applicable NATO standards and STANAGs.

• Support system integration, interoperability testing, ground testing and flight testing.

You should apply if you

• Degree in communications engineering, electrical engineering or a related discipline.

• Several years of practical experience with military tactical communications or datalink systems.

• Proven experience with Link 16 and MIDS terminal integration is required.

• Strong knowledge of JTIDS/MIDS message exchange, network participation groups, time-slot allocation and tactical network design.

• Experience with relevant standards such as STANAG 5516, STANAG 5522, STANAG 5602 and MIL-STD-6016.

• Understanding of RF communications, waveforms, encryption, frequency hopping, anti-jam techniques and airborne antenna integration.

• Experience with system requirements, interface-control documents, qualification and interoperability testing.

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 (Specifically for engineering and AI)

These are the core benefits across all locations, there may be additional benefits in certain locations.

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.

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