Lead Systems Engineer - Maritime

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 till 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

Navigate 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 Suitably Qualified and Experienced Person (SQEP) in maritime operations, giving customers and stakeholders confidence in system safety and compliance

Have managed requirements through the full engineering lifecycle using industry-standard requirement management tools, and can navigate the complexity of a multi-supplier, integrated systems environment

Communicate fluently in both German and English, enabling effective collaboration with German-based defence customers and partners alongside Helsing's pan-European engineering teams

Have worked within or alongside defence procurement processes, understanding how to bring a product from development through to operational service

Build architectures that fulfill customer problem statements from a technical perspective, especially when it comes to interfaces

Hands-on experience in MBSE approaches

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 lis …