Software Engineer Intern – Applied Machine Learning Full-time

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 a working student in STEM, you will push the implementation of state-of-the-art algorithms into real-world applications and test your solutions in the lab and the field
• You will work with drones and advance their capabilities through software and AI
• Be part of a highly talented, boundary-pushing team and work with globally renowned AI experts
• You will work closely with a team based in Munich, but interact with a broader team all over Europe

The day-to-day

• Conceptualise application of state-of-the-art technologies and discuss them with the team
• Understand advantages and disadvantages of different algorithmic approaches for our product
• Derive requirements regarding software architectures and implement selected software designs
• Summarise findings in clearly understandable documents
• Contribute towards the implementation of the most promising concepts

The technologies we use

• We rely on Rust and Python for most of our development, but if you’re proficient in writing clean, high-quality code in other languages, we’ll help you master our technology stack.
• Our cloud infrastructure is managed through Terraform, with Grafana and Prometheus for monitoring and visualisation.
• We use Nix to streamline development, ensuring that every engineer works with reliable, reproducible environments.
• We ensure an efficient and scalable communication between our services by utilising technologies like REST, GraphQL, gRPC/protobuf.

You should apply if you

• You are someone who enjoys taking initiative and working in a collaborative environment.

• Currently pursuing a PhD or MSc in STEM
• Programming experience in Rust, Python, C++ or similar languages.
• Experience with software and infrastructure frameworks like Git and Unix
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and work reliably and independently

Note: We operate at an intersection where women, as well as other minority groups, are systemically 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 working in a collaborative and fast-paced environment
• Experience in applying AI/ML algorithms
• Experience with Nix build system
• Hands-on experience with flying and working on drones

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

• Flexible hybrid working hours as well as regular feedback.
• An ambitious team located in the heart of London (as well as Berlin, Munich and Paris).
• Competitive compensation.
• The chance to join other mission-driven people in a fast-growing company focused on protecting our democracies.
• Opportunities to connect and network via diverse team events & fun outside the office.
• A social allowance and subsidised fitness membership to support your well-being.

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.

Helsing’s Candidate Privacy and Confidentiality Regime can be found here.