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Senior Systems Engineer ESM / ELS

Helsing

Helsing is a defence AI company whose mission is to protect democracies through technological leadership.

Berlin Posted 1mo ago defenseai
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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

We are developing an advanced airborne platform with integrated Electronic Support and Electronic Warfare capabilities. We are looking for an experienced engineer to lead the technical definition, design, and integration of the platform's Emitter Location System. 
 
The role focuses on the complete direction-finding chain: from antenna-array architecture and antenna-element placement to signal processing, Direction-of-Arrival estimation, geolocation, and system-level co-design with the Radar Warning Receiver. 
 
You will work at the intersection of antenna engineering, radar signal processing, Electronic Support Measures, navigation, aircraft integration, and real-time mission systems. 
 

The day-to-day

  • Define the architecture and system-level requirements of an airborne Emitter Location System.

  • Translate operational emitter-detection and geolocation needs into measurable technical requirements.

  • Develop and assess antenna-array concepts for airborne direction finding.

  • Define the number, type, geometry, orientation, and placement of antenna elements on the aircraft.

  • Analyse array performance across the required frequency range.

  • Assess the impact of: 
     - Element spacing 
     - Array aperture 
     - Phase-centre stability 
     - Mutual coupling 
     - Airframe shadowing 
     - Structural blockage 
     - Reflections and multipath 
     - Installation-induced amplitude and phase errors 
     - Polarisation mismatch

  • Balance direction-finding accuracy, angular ambiguity, frequency coverage, installation constraints, and platform size.

  • Develop calibration concepts for antenna, RF-channel, and installation-related errors.

  • Define requirements for coherent multichannel RF reception, channel synchronisation, phase matching, amplitude matching, and timing accuracy.

  • Develop and evaluate algorithms for: 
     - Amplitude-comparison direction finding 
     - Phase-interferometric direction finding 
     - Correlative direction finding 
     - Monopulse techniques 
     - Beamforming 
     - MUSIC, ESPRIT, Capon, and related high-resolution methods 
     - Multi-baseline and multi-frequency ambiguity resolution 
     - Wideband and frequency-agile emitter direction finding

  • Develop robust Direction-of-Arrival estimation methods for dense and complex electromagnetic environments.

  • Address challenges such as: 
     - Multiple simultaneous emitters 
     - Co-channel signals 
     - Low signal-to-noise ratio 
     - Short-duration and low-probability-of-intercept signals 
     - Frequency-agile and pulse-agile radars 
     - Multipath and platform-induced interference

  • Define confidence metrics and uncertainty estimates for Direction-of-Arrival measurements.

  • Develop emitter geolocation methods using successive Direction-of-Arrival measurements and platform motion.

  • Integrate aircraft position, attitude, heading, timing, and navigation uncertainties into the emitter-location solution.

  • Define interfaces between the Emitter Location System, Radar Warning Receiver, ESM receiver, mission computer, navigation system, and other mission-system components.

  • Develop a coherent system concept in which the Radar Warning Receiver and Emitter Location System share receiver resources, detections, signal descriptors, tracks, and threat information where appropriate.

  • Assess the trade-offs between wideband threat warning, accurate direction finding, emitter identification, and geolocation performance.

  • Define latency, update-rate, probability-of-intercept, dynamic-range, sensitivity, and accuracy requirements.

  • Develop simulation environments and representative test scenarios for evaluating array and algorithm performance.

  • Perform Monte Carlo analyses and sensitivity studies for antenna-placement errors, RF imperfections, navigation errors, and emitter geometries.

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