Software Engineer, Rust AI & Engineering Washington, DC

helsing.ai; Washington, Northern (District of Columbia, KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance coverage (medical and travel

Remote and/or hybrid work options

Flexible paid time off

Job summary

Helsing is seeking a seasoned systems programmer to join our US operations and work on Altra, Helsing's drone software platform written primarily in Rust. You will design and build low-latency, reliable services for autonomous capabilities in challenging environments.

The role emphasizes distributed systems, real-time performance, and collaboration with ML engineers to integrate AI/ML pipelines. US citizenship for security clearance is required.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in systems-level software engineering.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• Proficiency in Rust, or strong experience in C++ with willingness to use Rust.
• Experience building distributed, real-time or low-latency systems.
• Experience with video streaming, pub/sub messaging, sensor data processing, embedded systems, or robotics.
• Experience interfacing AI/ML pipelines and working with Python.

Responsibilities

• Designing, building, and maintaining Rust services across the Altra platform.
• Collaborating with ML engineers to integrate AI/ML pipelines into the broader system.
• Working across the stack from networking to application-level services.
• Contributing to increasingly advanced autonomy features.
• Developing and testing software using simulation environments.
• Ensuring software reliability on resource-constrained platforms in real-world constraints.

Skills

5+ years systems experience

Rust proficiency

C/C++ experience

Distributed systems

Real-time / low-latency

Python familiarity

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/Engineering/related field

Job description

Helsing develops artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities to protect and defend democracies.We build Altra, an AI-powered drone software platform, and HX-2, our autonomous drone. 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

You will work on Altra, Helsing's drone software platform, primarily written in Rust. You will design and build systems-level software that powers autonomous capabilities in challenging operational environments. Youdon'tneed to be a drone expert — but you should be a strong systems programmer who thrives in low-latency, high-reliability environments and is excited to apply those skills to a mission-critical product.

The day-to-day

• Designing, building, andmaintainingRust services across the Altra platform
• Collaborating with ML engineers to integrate AI/ML pipelines into the broader system
• Working across the stack, from networking and protocol implementation to application-level services
• Contributing to increasingly advanced autonomy features
• Developing and testing software using simulation environments
• Writing software that must perform reliably on resource-constrained platforms under real-world constraints

You should apply if you

• Have 5+ years of experience in systems-level software engineering
• Have aBachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
• Are proficient in Rust, or have strong experience in C++ or another systems-level compiled language with a willingness to work in Rust daily
• Have experience building distributed systems, particularly in unreliable or constrained network environments
• Have worked with real-time or low-latency systems where performance and reliability are critical
• Have experience with at least one or two areas relevant to our stack: video streaming, pub/sub messaging, sensor data processing, embedded systems, protocol design, or robotics
• Have designed or built systems that interface with AI/ML pipelines — streaming data to models, handling inference outputs, managing pipeline orchestration
• Are familiar with Python, particularly for interfacing with ML/AI components
• Are a U.S. citizen eligible to obtain a security clearance

Nice to have

• Direct experience with Rust in production systems
• Background in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or drone systems
• Experience with sensor fusion or multi-sensor data processing
• Familiarity with swarming, multi-agent systems, or decentralized coordination algorithms
• Experience with constrained or embedded platforms
• Familiarity with Nix orNixOSfor reproducible builds and development environments
• Experience with SITL/HITL (Software/Hardware-In-The-Loop) simulation and testing frameworks for autonomous systems
• Experience with RF communications, telemetry, or datalink systems
• Background in defense or national security

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
• 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.

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.