Optical Sensing Test Engineer

About this role

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 sit at the centre of the Optics Cluster in our Test Department, with a scope that crosses cluster boundaries.

A sensing subsystem is not only an optics problem. It sits where optics, electronics, embedded software, and mechanical integration meet. Integration decides whether sensor data can be trusted. An EO camera that is perfectly focused but misaligned with the LiDAR produces unsafe data. A LWIR sensor that passes standalone characterisation can still fail beside a hot avionics bay. The airframe tells a different story from the bench.

You will therefore do more than execute tests. You will act as the sensing system architect for test, and you will: Turn sensing subsystem requirements into structured test cases and test equipment concepts. Specify and commission the optical, electrical, and mechanical ground support equipment (OGSE, EGSE, and MGSE) that each modality needs. Serve as the department's technical authority on sensor synchronisation, calibration, and multimodal data quality.

The day-to-day Prototype testing : Characterise new sensors and integrated sensing subsystems during development. Turn requirements, such as performance at a given speed, temperature or altitude, into test plans. Design, build, and run the lab setups that show whether the sensor meets them . Integration support : Help decide how cameras and other sensors fit each new platform, including mounting angles, focus, field of view, and protective window.