Lead Systems Engineer - Maritime

EngineersOfAI; Germany (OH); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

EngineersOfAI is seeking a Maritime Systems Engineer to deliver assured and compliant systems to defense customers. This role involves owning the design process, Verification and Validation of maritime systems, and ensuring compliance with the highest technical standards.

The ideal candidate has experience building maritime systems in a defense setting and can manage subcontractors to ensure quality delivery. You will serve as the primary technical interface for customer delivery and long-term support.

Qualifications

• Experience in building and delivering maritime systems within a defense context.
• Ability to manage subcontractors and ensure quality delivery.
• Experience in interfacing with technical customers.

Responsibilities

• Own the design of solutions within the maritime domain.
• Ensure compliance with industry and defense standards.
• Translate operational experience into refined product requirements.
• Lead subcontractor and external partner management.
• Act as the primary technical interface for delivery.

Skills

Maritime systems design

Verification and Validation

Supplier management

Technical authority

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.

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 Helsing expands its maritime portfolio, this role sits at the heart of delivering assured, safe, and compliant systems to defence customers. The Maritime Systems Engineer owns the solution building process from design to end‑to‑end Verification and Validation of capabilities, working together with engineering teams and managing subcontractors to ensure Helsing's systems meet the highest technical and regulatory standards. Based in Germany, this role bridges product development and customer delivery, providing the technical authority needed to give customers confidence in Helsing's maritime solutions. Working closely with the Chief Engineer, this position drives sub‑component integration and shapes how existing and future Helsing products evolve to meet operational requirements.

The day-to-day

• Own the design of solutions within the maritime domain
• Own the Verification and Validation process for the full maritime system, including supplier-delivered components, ensuring all delivered capability is safe, assured, and compliant with relevant industry and defence standards
• Partner with the Design Engineering and Maritime Field Engineering teams to translate end‑user operational experience into refined and improved product requirements, feeding structured feedback into product and technology development cycles
• Lead the management of subcontractors and external partners, holding them accountable for delivery quality and ensuring seamless integration of critical system elements into the broader programme
• Act as the primary technical interface for campaigns and customer delivery, maintaining ownership of the capability through and beyond delivery to ensure long‑term through‑life support requirements are understood and met
• Naviagate the defence procurement landscape to bring maritime systems into service, ensuring Helsing can demonstrate to customers the compliance and safety credentials required for operational deployment

You should apply if you

• Have built and delivered maritime systems in a defence context
• Have demonstrated the ability to act as a Suitabl