Flight Control Engineer

Flight Control Engineer Join to apply for the Flight Control Engineer role at Helsing About Helsing 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 maintain their ethical standards. 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 and its ethical implications. The role Helsing delivers AI‑powered capabilities that redefine machine perception and decision‑making. Our Altra platform powers the HX‑2 strike drone, accelerating critical mission functions. You will work in a dedicated team within Altra and take full end‑to‑end responsibility for developing and validating flight control and guidance laws. In close collaboration with field engineers, your goal is to elevate HX‑2 performance to unprecedented levels and impact the future of defence technology. The day‑to‑day Develop flight controllers for different aerial platforms end to end: from controller design, to prototypical implementation and simulation, to implementation in the autopilot, to field testing, and to controller design iteration and refinement. Support the specification and execution of tests for flight controller evaluation. Collaborate with interfacing disciplines such as Flight Mechanics, Aerodynamics, Embedded Hardware & Software, and Testing. Contribute to, follow and analyse flight tests. Requirements Hold a M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics or an equivalent degree. Have at least 5 years of professional experience in flight controller development. Have very good skills in Matlab/Simulink. Possess a solid background in aerodynamics, stability and control, and systems modelling. Excellent communication skills and the ability to report and present findings clearly and efficiently both internally and externally. Solid software engineering skills, writing clean and well‑structured code in Matlab and/or languages like Python, Rust, Java, or modern C++. Passionate about keeping up to date with current research and enjoy re‑implementing or extending papers on state‑of‑the‑art flight control laws. Nice to Have Hands‑on experience with fixed‑wing aircraft or drones. Experience with or contribution to open‑source autopilots such as Ardupilot or PX4. Join Helsing and work with world‑leading experts in their fields Directly contribute to the protection of democratic countries while balancing ethical and geopolitical concerns. Work in a domain with highly unusual technical requirements and constraints, where robustness, safety and ethical considerations are vital. Take part in cutting‑edge technical innovation across reinforcement learning, distributed systems, generative AI, and deployment infrastructure. Help Helsing secure significant government contracts and drive historic leaps forward. Have the opportunity to influence internal debate, shape culture and own aspects 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 build a unified team across Europe. A hands‑on onboarding program, affectionately called “Infraduction”, where you will build tooling and applications used across the company. Equal opportunities statement 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 or religious beliefs, trade union membership, health or sexual orientation information. Helsing's Candidate Privacy and Confidentiality Regime can be found here. #J-18808-Ljbffr