Software Engineer (Early Careers)

The BSA2A initiative

Helsing’s mission is to protect our democracies. Delivering sovereign AI and mission-critical software capability requires exceptional engineering talent at every level.

Following our recent funding and the success of early-career engineers across our teams—including talent from our Formula Student partnerships—we are opening 20+ roles across our Deployed AI and Software Engineering teams.

Traditional recruitment often places artificial barriers in front of early-career builders. Resumes rarely tell the full story of your technical depth, intuition, or drive. To solve this, we are piloting a direct, craft-first hiring path: Bring Something Awesome to Apply (BSA2A).

(This route is designed specifically for early-career engineers. It is entirely optional, you may still apply via our standard job listings if you prefer.)

The process

At the core of our technical interview philosophy is Bring Something Awesome (BSA). A dedicated session where candidates present an ambitious technical project they have designed, built, or contributed to.

With BSA2A, we are bringing this step to the very front of the application. Instead of an initial CV and recruiter screen, you apply by submitting a short (maximum 10-minute) prerecorded video walkthrough of something technically compelling you have built. We look for:

• Engineering depth & craft: High-quality code, solid architectural choices, and systems-level thinking.

• First-principles problem solving: The ability to deconstruct complex technical challenges autonomously.

• Clear technical communication: The ability to explain the how and why behind your trade-offs succinctly.

Candidates selected through BSA2A move into an accelerated, streamlined technical assessment:

1. Expression of Interest: Complete the short form below to confirm your eligibility. Our team will review submissions. 

2. Video Submission: Eligible candidates receive a private link with detailed guidance to upload their 10-minute BSA walkthrough. Every video is evaluated directly by a Helsing engineer not an algorithm or automated keyword filter.

3. Technical Interviews (2 × 60 mins):

   • Round 1: BSA Deep Dive & Systems Design. An interactive, technical exploration of your project and system trade-offs.

   • Round 2: Live Coding. Practical, real-world algorithmic and problem-solving assessment.

4. Final Interview (30 mins): A conversation with engineering leadership focused on mission alignment, collaboration, and how you work.

Note: The initial form below is simply an expression of interest. You do not need your video recorded to submit this form. If your profile is eligible, we will send you dedicated instructions and a submission window.

Why apply via this route?

• Evaluated on proof of work, not pedigree: Your code, architectural choices, and technical curiosity take centre stage—not university ranking, buzzwords, or CV formatting.

• Play to your strengths: Your application is assessed directly by Helsing engineers on what you can actually build, not how well you format a CV. Putting your real-world work front and centre gives you the highest signal—and the highest probability of success.

• Accelerated timeline: A focused, high-signal path that bypasses standard preliminary screens and reduces the overall interview cycle by two full stages.

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

At Helsing we develop and deliver AI-based capabilities and the enabling infrastructure that allow semi-autonomous platforms to localise, navigate, and perceive the world in real time. We build software that is subject to significant and unorthodox technical constraints, must operate in a wide variety of constantly-changing environments, and has to support an ever-growing list of challenging use-cases. What we build ultimately ends up in the hands of real people in high-risk, high-stress situations, so must be both reliable and frictionless. Taken together, this brings a whole host of interesting engineering challenges across a wide variety of fields that you’ll help us solve.

The day-to-day

Find more information on the day-to-day: Deployed AI Engineer and Software Engineer.

*Please note, you need to apply via this page to be considered for the BSA2A process.

You should apply if you

• Communicate well in English, both verbally and in writing, with the ability to articulate complex architectural decisions to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

• Love figuring things out, digging deeper and deeper into unfamiliar systems until it finally clicks, and you understand how they work.

• Enjoy collaborating with others, including reviewing code and pair programming.

• Are comfortable solving problems with code.

• Feel like ethical considerations are an inherent part of software engineering.

• You can reason about and write code independently, without relying on LLMs. Helsing operates in environments where LLM use isn't always permitted, so our interviews are designed to let strong engineers succeed on the strength of their own thinking.

Nice to have

• Experience with Python and Rust.

• Are familiar with backend interface tools like REST, GraphQL, gRPC/Protocol Buffers, and Arrow.

• Knowledge of container-based, cloud-native and edge application architectures.

• Hardware interfaces (e.g., Arduino).

• Robotics (e.g., control systems).

Note: We operate at an intersection 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

• Competitive salary

• 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

These are the core benefits across all locations, there may be additional benefits in certain locations.

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.