Helsing→
Test and Evaluation Engineer at Helsing in Washington, DC
Skills
Job Description
Who we are
Helsing develops artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities to protect and defend democracies. We are growing our US operations, cultivating an ambitious and committed team of mission-driven professionals to apply their skills to solve challenging problems.
The role
In this role, you will be part of our hardware and platform integration team, focusing on the rigorous testing, validation, and evaluation of our Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems and AI-enabled flight capabilities. Your mission will span the complete development and deployment cycle: from laboratory-based software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations to demanding field trials under real-world, degraded, and adversarial conditions.
You will be an engineer who is not afraid to troubleshoot systems in the dirt, under rain, or in electromagnetically challenging environments, ensuring our platforms perform with extreme reliability and absolute safety when it matters most.
The day-to-day
Design, build, and scale rigorous test and evaluation (T&E) pipelines for our autonomous UAV fleet, encompassing physical hardware, flight controllers, communication and sensor payloads, and AI edge-perception models.
Own planning and execution of Modeling and Simulation (M&S), Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) analysis to stress-test subsystem integrations and real-time software prior to physical flight.
Organize, coordinate, and execute flight test campaigns. Work closely with flight operators, field engineers, and software teams to validate autonomous behaviors, sensor synchronization, and edge-AI model performance under challenging real-world conditions.
Deep-dive into flight data logs, telemetry, and sensor streams to hunt down root causes of failures, sensor misalignment, or unexpected edge-case behaviors. Coordinate with M&S, SIL, and HIL engineers to perform post-test reconstruction and inform model updates and verification.
Collaborate directly with our software, ML research, and hardware design teams. You won't just report bugs; you'll partner directly to translate test findings into robust, hardened engineering solutions.
Author comprehensive test plans, safety cases, and qualification reports to satisfy safety benchmarks as well as military certification standards. Partner with System Engineers to produce artifacts necessary for Verification and Validation (V&V) of system performance.
You should apply if you
Hold a BSc, MSc, or PhD in Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical field.
Have 7+ years of experience in testing, validation, and evaluation of complex autonomous systems, ideally UAVs, robotics, or aerospace platforms for US military customers.
Are highly proficient in Python, C++, or MATLAB for data analysis, log parsing, and automating validation setups.
Understand sensor integration, calibration, and synchronization (e.g., LiDAR, EO/IR cameras, IMUs, GNSS) and how they perform under vibration and thermal stress on an airframe.
Are perfectly comfortable navigating highly complex, multidisciplinary systems independently, troubleshooting them under pressure, and defining clear validation roadmaps.
Have experience on mature aircraft or munition development program, including operational testing.
Are familiar with the common military testing standards and designing tests for them. Examples include, MIL-STD 81H, MIL-STD 882E, MIL-STD 1316, etc...
Have hands-on experience with flight control systems (e.g., PX4, ArduPilot), ground control stations (QGroundControl), and communication datalinks.
Have a Part 107 or other pilot license.
Note: We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all the listed qualifications; ability and impact cannot be summarized 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 defense 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 practice 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
- A generous compensation and benefits package (in addition to base salary) that includes, but may not be limited to, insurance coverage (medical and travel), flexible paid time off, paid holidays, and remote and/or hybrid work available depending on position. All compensation and benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of the underlying plans or programs, as applicable and as may be amended, terminated or superseded from time to time.
The base salary offered to the successful candidate will be determined by a variety of factors including relevant experience, qualifications, education, skill level, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.
Helsing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We will consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetics, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. 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.