Simulation Chapter Lead

NestAI; Helsinki; On-site; EUR 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Occupational healthcare

Epassi Flex benefit

Lunch benefit

Team lunches and all-hands events

Mac or PC choice

Holiday allowance

Phone benefit

Job summary

NestAI is seeking a Simulation Chapter Lead to guide a team of simulation and rendering engineers, owning the technical direction of the Unreal Engine 5 digital twin and ensuring high-fidelity, real-time performance.

The role focuses on mentoring engineers, shaping the chapter's roadmap, and delivering reliable virtual environments to support autonomous systems development across Europe.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership with experience growing engineering teams.
• Strong background in real-time 3D, game-engine development, or rendering.
• Familiarity with sensor and camera simulation and terrain modelling.
• Architectural awareness for scalable simulation systems.
• Excellent interpersonal and strategic thinking skills.

Responsibilities

• Grow, mentor and coach a team of simulation and rendering engineers.
• Own the technical direction of the Unreal Engine 5 digital twin and extend it to new areas.
• Ensure reliable, reproducible virtual test environments for development cycles.
• Drive performance engineering for multi-UxV fleets across terrains.
• Collaborate with teams to align chapter work with platform goals.
• Plan and prioritise the chapter's roadmap and team structure.

Tools

Unreal Engine 5

Job description

Company

NestAI is a European AI lab for defence delivering the adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations. We develop adaptive intelligence for unmanned and command systems: AI that continuously learns from operational data and adapts to changing conditions.

NestOS is our open, modular and interoperable platform that enables this at scale and keeps capability evolution under sovereign European control. Founded in 2025 by Peter Sarlin, whose previous company Silo AI became Europe's largest AI acquisition, NestAI brings together over 200 engineers and scientists and partners with leading European defence forces and industry.

Role Description

The Simulation chapter builds NestOS's virtual world - a high-fidelity, Unreal Engine 5-based digital twin of real operational areas that lets us fly unmanned systems virtually and test them long before they reach the field. The team's core work is modelling the real world with physical accuracy: balancing between sensor fidelity, physical realism and run time performance. It delivers this as simulation as a service, giving the teams that build and test our autonomous systems reliable virtual environments to work against. In short, the chapter turns a virtual battlefield into the training and testing ground for autonomous systems.

We are looking for a Simulation Chapter Lead to lead both the people and the technology. You will grow and mentor a team of simulation, graphics and rendering engineers, own the technical direction of the digital twin, and make sure it reliably serves the teams that depend on it. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is as comfortable coaching engineers and shaping a roadmap as they are reasoning about real-time rendering performance and physical fidelity.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities:

• People leadership. Grow, mentor and coach a team of simulation and rendering engineers - hiring, one-on-ones, career development, and cultivating a collaborative, high-trust engineering culture.
• Technical stewardship. Own the technical direction of the Unreal Engine 5 digital twin - balancing between sensor fidelity / realism and project specific requirements the world, extending it to new operational areas as needed.
• Simulation as a service. Ensure the chapter delivers reliable, reproducible virtual test environments into the development loop - nightly edge-software releases and pre-merge developer testing - so teams can validate changes with confidence before they ship.
• Scale and performance. Drive the work needed to simulate multi-UxV fleets across expanding terrains and operational areas, and lead performance engineering (throughput and frame rate) so simulation is fast enough to be genuinely useful day to day.
• Collaboration & strategy. Work closely with the teams that rely on simulation to make sure it meets their needs, and help shape how the chapter's work supports the wider platform's direction.
• Resource & talent management. Plan and prioritise the chapter's roadmap, balance capacity across competing requests, and build the team's structure and skills for where the platform is heading.

Qualifications:

• Proven leadership. You have led and grown engineering teams, and you get energy from helping others do their best work.
• Technical roots. A strong background in real-time 3D and game-engine development (Unreal Engine 5 ideal), simulation, computer graphics or rendering, typically with solid C++ experience - deep enough to earn your engineers' trust and make sound architectural calls.
• Physical & sensor modelling. Familiarity with modelling real-world physics, environments and materials, and with sensor and camera simulation (such as EO/IR or thermal) and terrain modelling.
• Architectural awareness. Experience building simulation or rendering systems at scale, with a strong instinct for performance and reliability.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills. You communicate clearly, build trust across teams, and can align engineers and stakeholders around a shared direction.
• Strategic mindset. You connect the chapter's work to the bigger picture - how better simulation accelerates the whole platform - and plan accordingly.

Exposure to defence, robotics, autonomy or unmanned systems is a plus but not required.

If your background doesn't match every requirement but the work resonates with you, we'd encourage you to apply. How you think, learn, and take ownership matters more to us than ticking every box.

Why join NestAI

At NestAI, you’ll build meaningful, real-world technology as part of a world-class team of engineers, scientists, and experienced professionals. You’ll work on systems where reliability genuinely matters, contribute to Europe’s security and resilience, and solve problems that demand depth, trust, and craftsmanship.

If you want to build with purpose - and with leading experts in the field - you’ve come to the right place.

What we offer

We offer a growing set of practical benefits to support your work and wellbeing, day to day:

• Occupational healthcare (currently provided by Mehiläinen)
• Epassi Flex benefit (sports, culture, commuting, wellbeing)
• Lunch benefit (25% tax-free coverage)
• Regular team lunches and all-hands events
• Your choice of Mac or PC
• Holiday allowance (50% of holiday salary)
• Phone benefit according to company policy (subscription and device)
• We are continuously developing and expanding our benefits as we grow.

Practicalities

Employment is subject to applicable security screening (including SUPO, where required).

NestAI is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all applicants based on their skills, experience, and potential.