Robotics Software Engineer

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 You will be part of a team building the cutting edge and production-grade software foundations that power autonomous robotics. Your work will focus on designing, implementing, and deploying high-performance ROS2-based architectures and control software for robots operating in complex, unstructured, and dynamic real-world environments. This includes ensuring low-latency real-time communication, robust sensor integration, and reliable mechatronics performance. You will own the software lifecycle from architecture design to physical deployment on custom hardware, ensuring that our systems are highly reliable, easily diagnosable, and ready for critical real-world operations. The day-to-day

Design, implement, and rigorously test the ROS2 architecture and C++ modules that allow autonomous platforms to perceive, decide, and act reliably in complex, unstructured, and often adversarial environments. Take architectural concepts from a whiteboard to a fielded system, working hands-on with custom mechatronics to integrate sensors and actuators so the software layer performs exactly as required by the hardware layer. Develop diagnostic tooling and failure-analysis pipelines to detect actuator and system anomalies before they become mission failures, treating reliability as a foundational requirement. Utilize simulation environments such as MuJoCo and Isaac Sim, alongside Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing, to stress-test control logic and de-risk deployment, ensuring what works in simulation survives contact with the real world. Enforce high standards through unit and integration testing alongside robust CI/CD pipelines, treating the codebase as critical infrastructure that prioritizes clarity, modularity, and long-term maintainability. Package and ship production-grade software via containerized environments like Docker directly to the edge compute hardware running on the physical robots. Spend time directly in the test environment, working alongside the physical hardware to diagnose edge cases that only surface when software meets the real world.

You should apply if you

Are an experienced robotics software engineers (5+ years of relevant industry experience) or are an outstanding early-career candidate who can demonstrate exceptional technical ability and strong project experience.

Are fluent in modern C++ and ROS2, with deep hands-on experience building, debugging, and optimizing complex, multi-node robotic systems.

Demonstrate strong software architecture design skills and write clean, robust, and well-structured code with a focus on modularity and maintainability.

Have hands-on experience in the testing of new, custom mechatronic systems for real-world applications—you bridge the gap between software and physical hardware.

Can drive diagnostics analysis for detecting actuator/robot failures, implementing systems and tools that improve the pace and depth of failure analysis.

Possess operational familiarity with a Linux development environment, including advanced bash/shell scripting, build systems, and system-level debugging tools.

Have a strong commitment to software quality, with extensive experience in modern testing methodologies (unit, integration, and hardware-in-the-loop testing), QA, and CI/CD pipelines.

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

Proficiency or experience in Python (appreciated but not required). Familiarity with low-level motor control interfaces, real-time operating systems (RTOS), and embedded systems constraints. Experience with sensor fusion (IMU, proprioception, lidar, vision) to enhance localization, perception, and control pipeline reliability in ROS2. Experience with robotics simulation environments (e.g., Mujoco, Isaac Sim) for testing and verifying ROS2 nodes and software architectures before physical deployment. Familiarity with modern deployment and conta