Environmental Test Engineer - Generalist and Lethality Package

About the role

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 Environmental Cluster is Helsing's "Physical Reality" team within the Test Department. Where other clusters validate functionality, this cluster validates survivability and performance under real-world stress - and this role is its generalist backbone. As Environmental Test Engineer, you will design, execute, and analyse environmental stress campaigns across the full range of drone sub-systems and Ground Support Equipment (GSE). You will apply the cluster's core methodological toolkit - mechanical, thermal, and environmental qualification - across multiple hardware domains, ensuring test coverage continuity, absorbing campaign overflows from specialist engineers, and extending the cluster's capability into emerging and sensitive hardware areas. A defined portion of this scope extends to the environmental qualification of lethality packages. This requires a working understanding of the unique regulatory and safety constraints that govern the testing of energetic and weapons-related hardware. This is not a weapons engineering role: the lethality knowledge requirement is scoped specifically to environmental test safety and procedural compliance. You will validate that lethality packages survive the drone's environmental lifecycle without compromising safety or function - operating within a strict regulatory framework at every step. You will be embedded in a team of domain specialists covering launch systems and ground communication systems. Your role is to ensure that no sub-system falls through a coverage gap, that the cluster's documentation and certification evidence meets the required standard, and that Helsing's hardware is validated against the full physical reality of its operational environment. The day-to-day General environmental testing (primary scope) Design and execute vibration test campaigns - sine sweep, random vibration, and shock - on drone sub-systems and GSE hardware to simulate transport, operational, and launch-induced dynamic environments Execute controlled thermal soak and cycling tests across the full operational temperature range for any sub-system assigned by the Head of Testing or cluster lead Run dust and water ingress tests on drone enclosures, connectors, and GSE hardware to validate field survivability against IP-class requirements Execute humidity-controlled and salt-spray campaigns to identify corrosion risk in connectors, structural joints, and electronic housings Validate component behaviour under simulated low-pressure conditions relevant to the drone's operational altitude range Run high-cycle mechanical fatigue and endurance campaigns to characterise material and joint performance over the required operational life of assigned sub-systems Deliberately push hardware beyond its design limits to physically map the failure envelope and validate safety margins - producing evidence that informs structural and design decisions across the programme Cross-cluster support Step into any specialist domain - launch systems, communication systems, airframe - to cover campaign peaks without compromising test quality or schedule Independently set up instrumentation rigs, configure DAQ systems, and validate sensor placement for any environmental campaign within the cluster Coordinate with the Iron Bird Cluster to confirm that sub-systems entering integration have completed their environmental qualification, and that any outstanding findings are formally documented before handover Lethality package environmental testing (secondary scope) Apply the specific safety protocols required for the handling, storage, and testing of lethality-related hardware in an environmental context, operating within ITAR/EAR export control obligations and applicable national defence regulations at all times Execute vibration and shock campaigns on inert lethality package representations - non-energetic surrogate hardware - to validate structural survivability under transport and operational dynamic environments without risk of unintended arming Evaluate the thermal behaviour of lethality package housings and mechanical interfaces under operational temperature extrem

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