Senior Industrial Designer

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 Senior Industrial Designer at Helsing, you will help define and shape the physical design language across our expanding portfolio of defence technology products. This is a role with significant breadth and depth, you will take ownership of projects from early-stage concept development through to production-ready execution, translating complex technical systems into refined, intuitive and visually distinctive physical products. Working closely with engineering, manufacturing and product teams, you will operate at the intersection of aesthetics, ergonomics and manufacturability, ensuring that what we build is not only functional but coherent, considered and capable of operating in demanding real-world environments. Your contribution will extend beyond individual projects: you will actively shape Helsing's cross-domain design identity and help build a product portfolio that reflects the seriousness and ambition of our mission. The day-to-day

Lead industrial design projects end-to-end, from high-level concept development through to production-ready execution, maintaining design integrity at every stage

Develop technically informed, usability-driven design solutions for advanced technology applications, ensuring products are functional, manufacturable and operationally effective

Translate complex technical systems into clear, intuitive and highly refined physical products that meet both engineering constraints and user needs

Define and evolve strong semantic design languages, detailed graphical applications and coherent product architectures that contribute to Helsing's cross-domain design identity

Plan and facilitate design sprints and workstreams, validating ideas through prototyping, mock-ups and field evaluation

Produce high-quality 3D models and visualisations using industry-standard tools to communicate, test and refine design concepts with cross-functional stakeholders

Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing and product teams throughout the development cycle to ensure designs are realised accurately and at scale

Balance competing constraints, aesthetics, ergonomics, manufacturability and operational performance, to deliver products that are both distinctive and fit for purpose

Contribute to the growth and coherence of Helsing's product portfolio, bringing rigour and design thinking to each new challenge

You should apply if you

Have designed and shipped physical products from concept to production, with a portfolio that demonstrates both creative range and engineering rigour

Bring strong 3D modelling and visualisation capability, with proficiency in tools such as Alias, SolidWorks, Maya, Fusion 360, Rhino or equivalent

Think in systems and are able to hold the complexity of technical constraints, user needs and manufacturing realities simultaneously and make sound design decisions across all three

Demonstrate a refined sensitivity for semantics, detailing and graphical design application, with a clear point of view on what makes a product distinctive

Have worked effectively within engineering-driven development environments, collaborating across multidisciplinary teams to realise concepts at scale

Communicate design intent clearly and persuasively through models, visualisations and dialogue to technical and non-technical stakeholders alike

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

Experience in defence, aerospace, robotics, mobility, medical or other advanced technology sectors where design decisions carry significant operational consequence

Familiarity with designing mission-critical or operational equipment, with an understanding of the constraints and responsibilities this entails

Knowledge of advanced manufacturing processes and materials, and how these shape design decisions at the concept stage

Experience working across hardware and digital int