Software Engineer, Rust
Helsing
| Company | Helsing |
| Category | Engineering |
| Location | Washington |
| Remote | On-site (inferred) |
| Employment | Not stated |
| Level | Not stated |
| Salary | Not stated by the employer |
| Posted | 16 Jun 2026 |
| Last verified | 30 Jul 2026 |
| Source | Employer career page (greenhouse) |
Description
Who we are
Helsing develops artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities to protect and defend democracies. We build Altra, an AI-powered drone software platform, and HX-2, our autonomous drone. We are growing our US operations, cultivating an ambitious and committed team of mission-driven professionals to apply their skills to solve challenging problems.
The role
You will work on Altra, Helsing's drone software platform, primarily written in Rust. You will design and build systems-level software that powers autonomous capabilities in challenging operational environments. You don't need to be a drone expert — but you should be a strong systems programmer who thrives in low-latency, high-reliability environments and is excited to apply those skills to a mission-critical product.
The day-to-day
Designing, building, and maintaining Rust services across the Altra platform
Collaborating with ML engineers to integrate AI/ML pipelines into the broader system
Working across the stack, from networking and protocol implementation to application-level services
Contributing to increasingly advanced autonomy features
Developing and testing software using simulation environments
Writing software that must perform reliably on resource-constrained platforms under real-world constraints
You should apply if you
Have 5+ years of experience in systems-level software engineering
Have a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field
Are proficient in Rust, or have strong experience in C++ or another systems-level compiled language with a willingness to work in Rust daily
Have experience building distributed systems, particularly in unreliable or constrained network environments
Have worked with real-time or low-latency systems where performance and reliability are critical
Have experience with at least one or two areas relevant to our stack: video streaming, pub/sub messaging, sensor data processing, embedded systems, protocol design, or robotics
Have designed or built systems that interface with AI/ML pipelines — streaming data to models, handling inference outputs, managing pipeline orchestration
Are familiar with Python, particularly for interfacing with ML/AI components
Are a U.S. citizen eligible to obtain a security clearance
Nice to have
Direct experience with Rust in production systems
Background in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or drone systems
Experience with sensor fusion or multi-sensor data processing
Familiarity with swarming, multi-agent systems, or decentralized coordination algorithms
Experience with constrained or embedded platforms
Familiarity with Nix or NixOS for reproducible builds and development environments
Experience with SITL/HITL (Software/Hardware-In-The-Loop) simulation and testing frameworks for autonomous systems
Experience with RF communications, telemetry, or datalink systems
Background in defense or national security
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 take
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