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 the Lead Engineer for Low Observability & RF Interoperability, you will spearhead the effort to minimise the system's electromagnetic signature whilst ensuring all RF systems co-exist without degradation. Your core responsibilities involve developing low-signature operational concepts, managing RF deconfliction, and leading system-level integration and verification. This role is pivotal in guaranteeing mission-critical performance and resilience, particularly within contested electronic warfare environments.

The day-to-day

Design and own emission control (deconfliction and LPD) for overall system (airborne platform and ground components)
Own day-to-day RF interoperability across airborne payloads (radar/AESA, RWR/ESM, datalinks, SATCOM/LOS radios, GNSS, IFF, telemetry), ensuring co-existence without mutual degradation.
Plan and execute EMC/EMI co-site assessments: interference mapping, blocker/intermod analysis, desense risk, harmonic/spur management, and mitigation recommendations.
Define and manage frequency plans, channelization, guard bands, time-sharing concepts, and emission control (EMCON) profiles for mission phases.
Own LO/signature-aware EW design for active and passive sensors.
Establish LPI/LPD and signature-aware operation concepts: passive-first tactics, emitter reporting policies, and mission-level sensor management to reduce detectability.
Drive interface control between sensors and comms.
Develop integration concepts for antenna placement, isolation, polarization, and cable routing to meet performance while respecting platform constraints.
Run system-level trade studies.
Create integration and verification test plans.
Ensure comms and sensing operate under contested EW conditions: resilience analysis (jamming, spoofing, interference), fallback modes, and graceful degradation behavior.
Coordinate with LO/structures teams to ensure RF designs support low observability: antenna/aperture treatments, radome effects, edge treatments, cavity resonance controls, and RCS impact trade-offs.
Assess and reduce unintentional emissions (spurs, leakage, clock radiation) that could compromise LO signatures; drive mitigation via layout, shielding, filtering, and software controls.
Define requirements for signature-aware operation: LPI/LPD waveform constraints (where applicable), transmit power management, directional comms usage, and mission-dependent RF profiles.
Perform requirements traceability from platform-level performance goals (range, sensitivity, datalink margin, LO constraints) to subsystem specs and verification evidence.
Lead cross-functional issue resolution: root-cause RF anomalies, coordinate vendor actions, track corrective actions, and close with verified test results.
Manage supplier/customer technical exchanges on RF topics: review test reports, negotiate margins, and ensure compliance with platform constraints and standards.

You should apply if you

Hold a relevant degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field.
Have have experience in delivering RF/EMC co-site interoperability on airborne platforms.
Have hands-on experience with multi-sensor RF integration (AESA radar, ESM/RWR, datalinks/SATCOM/LOS radios, GNSS, IFF).
Can run interference/desense/intermod analyses and turn results into practical mitigations (filters, blanking, isolation, shielding, power/time management).
Have built and executed EMC/EMI and OTA test campaigns (lab/chamber/range/flight) and can correlate models to data.
Understand antenna placement/coupling trade-offs and can drive designs with airframe/structures (routing, grounding, radomes, apertures).
Have demonstrated low-observability / signature-management mindset: unintended emissions control, EMCON, LPI/LPD concepts.
Are fluent in requirements → ICDs → verification (traceability, test plans, acceptance criteria) in a regulated aerospace environment.
Can lead cross-functional technical closure with suppliers: review data, challenge assumptions, drive corrective actions to verified outcomes.

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.

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

A focus on outcomes, not time-tracking
Competitive compensation and stock options
Relocation support
Social and education allowances
Regular company events and all-hands to bring together employees as one team across Europe

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.

Lead Systems Engineer - LO Emission Control & RF Interoperability at Jobs in Munich | EnJobs

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