Test Engineer - Ground

Helsing; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Learning allowance

Health & wellness

Social events

Parental leave

Job summary

Helsing, a defence AI company, seeks engineers to professionalize Ground-Side Engineering, turning flight–test risk into lab-tested reliability. You will work on de-risking, validation, and robust testing for ground controls, data links, and safety-critical interfaces.

You will contribute to a culture that emphasises ethics, transparency, and high-stakes problem solving, collaborating with engineers and project managers across Europe.

Qualifications

• Deep technical understanding of Ground Control Stations, launchers, antennas, and rugged power/control systems.
• Ability to sniff and analyse communication protocols between ground and air (IRONBIRD) to de-risk latency and packet loss.
• Experience building Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) environments to simulate flight triggers on the bench.

Responsibilities

• Pre-Flight De-risking: Executing high-repetition tests on firmware and hardware configurations for the Ground Control Station and data links.
• Launch System Validation: Engineering tests for mechanical launch systems to ensure repeatable, safe exit velocities and structural integrity.
• The Iron Bird Connection: Maintaining a ground-based "Iron Bird" to test system-wide reactions to simulated component failures.
• Regression Library: Building a library of ground-side edge cases and failure cases that must be passed before any new sub-system is cleared for flight integration.
• Documentation of Proof: Generating technical "De-risking Reports" and managing relevant testing cards in JIRA.

Skills

GCS expertise

Ground hardware testing

IRB interfacing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

JIRA

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.

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

Airworthiness is a system-level requirement. We cannot certify an aircraft if the launcher or the control link hasn’t been rigorously de-risked. This role professionalizes our Ground-Side Engineering, moving our failure rate from the expensive flight-test phase to the low-cost laboratory phase. It is an investment in crash prevention and regulatory compliance.

The day-to-day

• Pre-Flight De-risking: Executing high-repetition "burn-in" tests on all new firmware and hardware configurations for the Ground Control Station and data links.


• Launch System Validation: Engineering tests for mechanical launch systems to ensure repeatable, safe exit velocities and structural integrity.


• The "Iron Bird" Connection: Acting as the link to the IRB Team by maintaining a ground-based "Iron Bird" to test system-wide reactions to simulated component failures.


• Regression Library: Building a library of ground-side edge cases and failure cases that must be passed before any new sub-system is cleared for flight integration.


• Documentation of Proof: Generating technical "De-risking Reports" and managing relevant testing cards in JIRA.

You should apply if you

• Infrastructure & GSE Mastery: Deep technical understanding of Ground Control Stations (GCS), pneumatic/mechanical launchers, tracking antenna arrays, and ruggedized power and control systems.


• Interface & Protocol Testing: Ability to sniff and analyse communication protocols between ground and air (IRONBIRD) to de-risk command-and-control latency and packet loss.


• HIL/SIL Setup: Experience building and maintaining Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) environments to simulate flight triggers on the bench.


• Environmental & Stress Testing: Competence in vibration, thermal, and EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) "torture tests" on supporting hardware to ensure field survivability.


• Diagnostic Tooling: Skilled in the use of oscilloscopes, spectrum analysers, and network protocol analysers to perform root-cause analysis on ground-side hardware failures.

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

• Bachelor's degree (B.Sc. or B.Eng.) in a relevant engineering discipline.


• Prior exposure to defense, dual-use, or regulated hardware in a test context is strongly preferred.


• Experience in an aerospace or defense environment operating under ITAR/EAR or equivalent national defense export control frameworks is an advantage.

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.