Design Engineer - Electronics

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 Design Engineer focused on Electronics, you will create innovative concepts for the mechanical integration of electronic boards, connectors, and harnesses, ensuring their proper form, fit, and function. Your expertise will be vital in realising robust, scalable, and cost-effective solutions that enhance the performance of Helsing's systems, directly supporting our mission to provide advanced defence capabilities.

The day-to-day

• Design and develop electronic circuits and PCBs — from requirements capture through schematic design to layout — covering power electronics, digital electronics, and mixed-signal architectures

• Collaborate proactively with mechanical, software, and systems engineers to ensure seamless integration of electronic assemblies into the airframe and overall system architecture

• Drive requirements-to-design traceability, actively supporting requirements flow-down and contributing to aircraft-level (A/C) requirements and flight support documentation

• Design and integrate cable harnesses and connectors, including selection, routing, and integration into complex electromechanical assemblies

• Develop and execute unit-level tests and support system-level integration and flight testing, troubleshooting issues pragmatically across hardware/software boundaries

• Produce complete design documentation including schematics, PCB layouts, BOMs, and integration drawings using tools such as Altium Designer or KiCad

• Perform circuit simulation and analysis using tools such as LTSpice to validate design decisions early in the development cycle

• Contribute to reliability and safety analyses, including FMEA and reliability prediction, to ensure designs meet required standards

• Design and integrate communication interfaces, including protocols such as CAN Bus, Ethernet, RS422/485 and similar interfaces, ensuring robust and reliable data and power distribution across the platform

• Work with RF and radio systems, including datalinks, GNSS, SATCOM, and other radio-frequency technologies relevant to UAV platforms, ensuring reliable connectivity and positioning across all operating conditions

• Support production and test teams throughout the manufacturing, bring-up, and verification phases, providing hands-on engineering support on the shop floor when needed

• Stay curious and keep learning — our domain evolves rapidly, and we value engineers who actively seek out new technologies, methods, and best practices

You should apply if you

• Have professional working experience in electronic circuit design, PCB design and layout, covering power electronics, digital electronics, and mixed-signal systems — ideally within aerospace, UAV, or similarly demanding domains
• Are proficient in PCB design tools such as Altium Designer or KiCad, and comfortable using circuit simulation tools such as LTSpice for design validation and analysis

• Have an understanding of RF and radio systems used in UAV or aerospace applications — including datalinks, GNSS, SATCOM, and related antenna and signal integrity considerations

• Have hands-on experience with onboard communication protocols such as CAN Bus, Ethernet, and similar digital interfaces, and understand their integration within complex embedded electronic architectures

• Have proven experience with cable harness and connector design, including selection, routing, and integration of harnesses into complex electromechanical assemblies

• Possess solid ECAD/MCAD co-design experience, and are comfortable collaborating with mechanical engineers to ensure proper form, fit, and function of electronic assemblies within their physical enclosures and airframe interfaces

• Can perform requirements flow-down and traceability, translating system-level requirements into electronic design specifications and supporting aircraft-level (A/C) documentation and flight support activities

• Are familiar with reliability and safety engineering practices, including FMEA and reliability prediction methods, and understand their importance in safety-critical systems

• Have experience defining and executing unit and system-level tests, and are comfortable working hands-on during integration, verification, and troubleshooting campaigns

• Can apply ASME/ISO drawing standards and relevant aerospace design and documentation standards

• Are comfortable working cross-functionally with mechanical, software, and systems engineers in a fast-paced, iterative development environment

• Are able to support production and test teams during manufacturing bring-up and verification phases

• Communicate excellently in English, both written and verbal

• Are pragmatic, curious, and eager to learn — you adapt quickly, take ownership, and thrive in a highly flexible and mission-driven environment

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.

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 VSOP options

• Relocation support

• Social and education allowances

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

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 .