Radio Engineer at Helsing

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 Radio Engineer based in Germany, you will own radio communication end-to-end across new product development and iterations on existing systems. Working in one of the most contested domains of modern defence, the electromagnetic spectrum, you will translate real-world feedback from frontline drone operations into adaptable, resilient RF solutions. You will make well-reasoned decisions about when to integrate market-ready technology and when to build new capabilities, directly shaping how autonomous systems remain connected to the humans who command them. Your work ensures that the right information reaches the right decision-maker at the right moment, a capability that underpins every mission-critical outcome Helsing's systems support.

The day-to-day

Monitor the evolving RF landscape and frontline operational feedback to identify gaps in existing solutions and define the direction for next-generation radio capabilities
Test, validate and integrate radio communication systems into new and existing products, translating customer and internal requirements into reliable, field-ready solutions
Partner with internal engineering teams and external suppliers to develop custom antenna and radio solutions optimised for mission success in contested electromagnetic environments
Act as the company's subject-matter authority on radio communications, covering both Line of Sight and Satcom, to guide product decisions and inform technical strategy across teams
Collaborate with governmental bodies to secure licensed-band approvals and build out an internal RF test laboratory equipped with specialist hardware for repeatable, high-fidelity testing

You should apply if you

Have a strong technical foundation in radio systems across the full stack, including propagation characteristics, hardware constraints and real-world performance limitations
Have integrated radio or antenna systems into hardware products and validated their performance against defined requirements in lab or field environments
Communicate clearly and build productive working relationships with engineers, programme managers, customers and external partners to move technical work forward
Can navigate trade-offs between commercial off-the-shelf solutions and custom development, making well-reasoned calls under real constraints of time and resource
Have a background in Electrical Engineering, Telecommunications, Software Engineering or a related field, whether through formal study or equivalent hands-on experience

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

Have designed, built and evaluated a custom antenna or radio frontend for a specific operational use case
Have developed or deployed a Software Defined Radio (SDR), or brought a Satcom-enabled product through to market

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.

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