The posting, in Helsing's own words
archived Sep 8, 2026Who 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
Based in Barcelona, this role sits at the intersection of aesthetic vision and engineering rigour, leading all surface design activities across the full product development cycle for Helsing's robotics portfolio. You will take ownership from concept creation through to serial production, ensuring every surface decision reflects Helsing's Design DNA while meeting technical and manufacturing requirements. Working across industrial design, engineering, and supplier teams, you will translate digital intent into tangible, high-quality robotic and drone systems, bridging strategic design thinking with hands-on execution to deliver products that perform in the real world • Lead the development and validation of Class A surfaces across multiple concurrent projects, from early sketch phases to tooling release and production ramp-up, ensuring every output meets aesthetic, functional, and manufacturing requirements. • Serve as the primary point of expertise for surface and design solutions, providing guidance on visual continuity and manufacturability to cross-functional teams including industrial designers, engineers, tooling specialists, and suppliers. • Drive real-world testing, mockup evaluations, and tactile reviews, ensuring digital designs translate accurately into high-quality, production-ready products. • Collaborate daily with product teams, engineering, marketing, and project leadership to resolve technical challenges and maintain seamless alignment between design intent and production realities. • Manage timelines and prioritise deliverables across projects at varying maturity levels, balancing design quality, cost-efficiency, and time-to-market without compromising on detail-level excellence.
Read the full posting ↓
The day-to-day
• Lead the development and validation of Class A surfaces across multiple concurrent projects, from early sketch phases to tooling release and production ramp-up, ensuring every output meets aesthetic, functional, and manufacturing requirements. • Serve as the primary point of expertise for surface and design solutions, providing guidance on visual continuity and manufacturability to cross-functional teams including industrial designers, engineers, tooling specialists, and suppliers. • Drive real-world testing, mockup evaluations, and tactile reviews, ensuring digital designs translate accurately into high-quality, production-ready products. • Collaborate daily with product teams, engineering, marketing, and project leadership to resolve technical challenges and maintain seamless alignment between design intent and production realities. • Manage timelines and prioritise deliverables across projects at varying maturity levels, balancing design quality, cost-efficiency, and time-to-market without compromising on detail-level excellence.
You should apply if you
• Have built and delivered Class A surfaces for complex products from concept to mass production, with hands-on expertise in tools such as Alias, ICEM Surf, Maya, Blender, or CATIA. • Bring deep knowledge of manufacturing processes, materials, and design-for-manufacturing principles, with a track record of optimising designs for performance, cost, and scalability. • Have led surface and design workstreams across global, cross-functional teams, managing stakeholders and resolving competing priorities with clarity and sound judgement. • Can articulate design intent and technical requirements clearly to diverse audiences, from industrial designers to suppliers, engineers, and senior leadership. • Have worked in the robotics domain and can move comfortably between strategic design decisions and detailed technical surfacing work. 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
Familiarity with visualisation tools such as VRED, KeyShot, or Blender, and experience using rapid prototyping techniques including 3D printing to validate surfaces and concepts efficiently. Background working in or lean development environments, including start-up settings, across sectors such as automotive, consumer electronics, defence, or transportation.