Field Engineer - Interceptors

Job description

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 on the interceptor programme, you will help take AD-1 and AD-2 from development flight trials to qualified, mass-produced products. You'll work in a tight iteration loop with propulsion, GNC, seeker, avionics, software and AI engineers, as well as product managers and military end users. Ultimately, you will help assure the safety, reliability and effectiveness of Helsing's air defence products. The day-to-day • Preparing and running trials of Air Defence products at test ranges, from pre-trial build-up and launcher/container integration through launch, recovery and post-trial analysis • Supporting build, checkout and pre-flight procedures • Installing and configuring software on ground stations, launchers and edge compute, using Helsing’s in-house deployment tools • Writing and improving trial plans, range safety documentation, hazard analyses, firing SOPs and checklists • Defining and securing what we need for an efficient, scalable trials operation • Feeding field learnings back into design and production • Advising on operator training, launcher/container handling procedures and in-service support for military customers • Travelling regularly to test ranges and customer sites in the UK, Germany, and across Europe and beyond (sometimes at short notice and for multi-day trial campaigns) You should apply if you • Have strong technical aptitude and natural curiosity. You can understand complex hardware and software systems (airframe, propulsion, guidance, sensors, datalinks, C2) at a systems level. You’re not satisfied until you understand how something works, or why it doesn’t • Have excellent written and verbal communication skills. You can write clear, rigorous trial and safety documentation and talk fluently about technical concepts with engineers, range staff, military users and non-engineers • Take safety seriously and work with discipline in high-hazard environments, following procedures exactly while still challenging them when they can be improved • Are a natural problem solver. You can independently own critical workstreams, spot problems early and take the initiative to fix them, often under time pressure on a trials day • Are happy with hands-on, physical fieldwork: packing, transporting, setting up and operating equipment outdoors in all weather • Are passionate about protecting liberal democratic values by contributing to the defence and security sector Nice to Have • Experience with missile, rocket, fast-jet UAV trials, such as range operations, flight test engineering, or test and evaluation (T&