RF & EMC Engineer - #2692282

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 RF & EMC Engineer, you will own the electromagnetic architecture of Helsing's drone platforms, from board level through to platform certification and field operations. Working across electronics, mechanical and systems engineering teams, you will define antenna placement, govern RF interfaces across onboard radio systems and embed EMC requirements into designs before they become costly fixes. Your analyses, test campaigns and technical guidance directly determine the electromagnetic cleanliness, compliance and operational robustness of Helsing's platforms in complex, congested radio environments.

The day-to-day

• Define and own the platform-level RF and EMC concept from early design through to certification, including antenna placement and selection, frequency management, co-site interference analysis and requirements traceability from system level down to LRU and component level
• Perform platform-level RF and EMC analyses covering link budgets, antenna pattern assessment, cable shielding effectiveness and conducted and radiated interference predictions, translating outputs into clear design requirements for electronics, mechanical and systems engineers
• Work closely with radio engineers to define clean RF interfaces across C2 links, datalinks, GNSS and SATCOM, ensuring robust frequency co-existence across the full platform radio architecture
• Guide and support EMC test campaigns at board, LRU, system and platform level, providing test strategy, setup guidance and real-time engineering judgement, and driving root cause analysis and corrective actions for any non-conformances identified
• Write and maintain EMC control plans, test plans, RF interface documents and analysis reports to the standard of clarity and rigour required for defence and aerospace programme compliance
  
  

You should apply if you

• Have owned RF and EMC engineering within aerospace, UAV or defence programmes, including hands-on antenna selection and placement on complex platforms with an understanding of radiation patterns, ground plane effects, co-site interference and mechanical integration constraints
• Have performed platform-level EMC analysis covering conducted and radiated emissions, susceptibility, shielding effectiveness and bonding and grounding, and have supported or led test campaigns against standards such as MIL-STD-461 or DO-160
• Can produce link budgets and RF system analyses and translate them into antenna and radio system requirements, with working knowledge of onboard radio systems including C2 links, datalinks, GNSS and SATCOM and their co-existence challenges in UAV or aerospace applications
• Can define and manage RF and EMC requirements with full traceability across the system hierarchy, working cross-functionally with electronics designers, mechanical engineers and radio specialists to embed requirements early in the design cycle
• Act decisively with minimal guidance, own outcomes end-to-end and initiate solutions without waiting for direction
  
  

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

• Familiarity with antenna design and simulation tools such as CST or HFSS, and experience with frequency deconfliction and spectrum management in a multi-radio UAV or aircraft environment
• Knowledge of EMC control planning within a structured aerospace development and certification programme, including the documentation rigour required for regulatory submissions
  
  

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.