Embedded Test Software Engineer - Hardware Interface & Automation

The Embedded Test Software Engineer is the software backbone of Helsing's Test Department, serving all four hardware clusters: Environmental, Electrical, Iron Bird, and Ground Testing. Sitting at the precise boundary between hardware and software, this role designs, develops, and maintains the firmware tools and PC-side automation frameworks that transform manual, one-off test campaigns into repeatable, traceable, and scalable engineering processes. Working across microcontroller firmware and Python-based orchestration, this engineer builds infrastructure that reveals the true behaviour of hardware under test, feeding structured findings back into the design cycle and directly supporting Helsing's ability to field reliable, mission-critical systems,

The day-to-day

• Design and build embedded test firmware in C/C++ on STM32 and RP2040 platforms, implementing CAN, DroneCAN, UART, SPI, and I2C interfaces to simulate, stimulate, and fault-inject across all four hardware test clusters
• Develop Python-based test orchestration frameworks that control full test sequences, capture and structure multi-source data, and generate automated engineering reports, eliminating manual post-processing for cluster engineers
• Integrate and commission COTS test instruments and custom test PCBs into repeatable, version-controlled bench rigs, and build the software interface layer connecting HIL simulation environments to hardware under test
• Diagnose hardware and firmware failures using oscilloscopes, logic analysers, and protocol decoders, translating physical-layer evidence into structured, actionable findings that design engineering teams can act on directly
• Build and maintain a regression test library spanning CAN/DroneCAN protocol behaviour, interface timing, and power profiles, producing formal clearance reports that gate each hardware and firmware revision before integration proceeds

• Have developed embedded firmware in C/C++ at both HAL and bare-metal level on ARM Cortex-M platforms, including peripheral configuration for real-time, timing-critical applications
• Have built and shipped test automation frameworks in Python, integrating hardware communication protocols such as CAN, DroneCAN, or MAVLink into repeatable, production-ready pipelines
• Have hands-on experience diagnosing hardware and firmware failures using oscilloscopes and logic analysers, with the ability to capture, decode, and interpret physical-layer protocol traffic
• Understand CAN bus architecture in depth, including frame structure, arbitration, error handling, and bus loading, and can design test scenarios at the protocol level
• Have worked in a regulated engineering environment where software traceability, version control, and validation records are integral to the workflow

Note: We operate in an industry 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.

Nice to Have

• Have experience with MATLAB/Simulink for data analysis or HIL model integration in an aerospace or defence context
• Have collaborated with hardware designers on test PCB schematics, or contributed to Design for Test reviews during the hardware design cycle

• Competitive salary and VSOP options
• 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
• A hands-on onboarding program (affectionately labelled "Infraduction"), in which you will be building tooling and applications to be used across the company. This is your opportunity to learn our tech stack, explore the company, and learn how we get things done - all whilst working with other engineering teams from day one

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., 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