Who we are

The role

At Helsing we deliver AI-based capabilities and the enabling foundation that allow machines to perceive and assist human decision-making. You will have the unique opportunity to shape AI capabilities in one of the most challenging sectors, where high generalisation capabilities need to be paired with hardware constraints and real-world robustness.

You will be part of a team pushing the boundaries of autonomous robotics through reinforcement learning. Your work will focus on designing, training and deploying RL-based controllers for robots operating in complex, unstructured, and dynamic real-world environments — where classical control approaches fall short. This includes enabling robots to perceive and understand their surroundings by fusing rich sensory inputs, including vision, to inform robust and adaptive control. You will own the full pipeline from simulation to deployment, ensuring that learned policies are robust, efficient, and ready for real-world operation under tight hardware constraints.

You should apply if you

• Hold an MSc or PhD in Robotics, Machine Learning, Control Engineering, or a closely related field, with a strong focus on reinforcement learning and robot control.

• Have hands-on experience training and deploying RL-based controllers on real robotic hardware, not just in simulation — you have seen your policies fall, iterate, and ultimately succeed on a physical system.

• Are deeply familiar with modern RL techniques for continuous control, including but not limited to: model-free methods (PPO, SAC, TD3), model-based RL, hierarchical RL, sim-to-real transfer strategies, domain randomisation, and curriculum learning.

• Have a solid understanding of robot dynamics, kinematics, and classical control theory (e.g. PID, model predictive control, trajectory optimisation), and know when and how to combine them with learned approaches.

• Are proficient in building and working with physics-based simulators (e.g. MuJoCo, Isaac Gym/Isaac Lab, PyBullet, Gazebo) for training and validating RL policies.

• Possess solid software engineering skills, writing clean and well-structured code in Python and/or languages like Rust or modern C++, and have experience deploying AI software to production including testing, QA, and monitoring.

• Have excellent communication skills and the ability to report and present research findings clearly and efficiently, both internally and externally.

• Are passionate about keeping up to date with current research and enjoy re-implementing and extending state-of-the-art papers.

Note: We operate at an intersection 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

• PhD in Robotics, Reinforcement Learning, Control Engineering, or related fields, with publications in top-tier venues (e.g. CoRL, ICRA, NeurIPS, ICLR, IROS, RSS).

• Experience developing controllers for highly dynamic robotic systems operating under complex contact interactions and demanding environmental conditions.

• Experience with vision-based perception for robotics control, such as depth estimation, visual odometry, or visuomotor policy learning.

• Familiarity with low-level motor control interfaces and real-time embedded systems constraints.

• Experience with online adaptation and meta-learning techniques to enable robots to adapt to changing environmental conditions

• Experience with sensor fusion (IMU, proprioception, exteroception, vision) to inform and enhance learned control policies.

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

• 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

These are the core benefits across all locations, there may be additional benefits in certain locations.

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.

About Charles River Associates

Charles River Associates is a leading global consulting firm that provides economic, financial, and business management expertise to major law firms, corporations and governments around the world. CRA advises clients on economic and financial matters pertaining to litigation and regulatory proceedings, and guides corporations through critical business strategy and performance-related issues. For nearly 60 years, clients have engaged CRA for its combination of industry experience and rigorous, fact-based analyses that provide clients with clear, implementable solutions to complex business concerns.

CRA's European Competition Practice specialises in providing economic advice on matters of competition policy and regulation. We assist firms and their legal advisors in all types of competition proceedings: firms considering merger and acquisition opportunities or involved in merger control proceedings; and firms undergoing investigations relating to cartels, restrictive commercial agreements, abuse of dominance or state aid. We also provide advice to firms involved in regulatory proceedings and sector inquiries. We offer assistance on the estimation of effects and damages in cartel cases, international arbitration and intellectual property disputes.

Position Overview

Principals have the unique opportunity to learn from, and work alongside, some of the most respected scholars, specialists, and industry experts in the world.  We tailor our analyses to the facts of each case, employing tools such as merger simulation, upward pricing pressure analysis, econometrics, bargaining theory, or game theory as needed. Whether before a court or a regulatory agency, CRA consultants set a high standard for the clear communication of sophisticated economic analysis in complex cases. You will have access to internal training programs focused on creative problem solving, communications, and leading and managing colleagues, teams and cases.  In addition, our firm offers extracurricular activities where you can take additional leadership roles in recruiting, training, and volunteer activities in the local community.

A typical Principal would:

• Work closely with leading academics and consulting with attorneys and other clients in industry and government on a wide variety of finance, strategy and economics issues;
• Act as a primary point of contact for clients and assist in the development and presentation of client deliverables including expert reports summarizing our opinions, conclusions, and recommendations and third party financial, market and industry data;
• Independently conceptualize and identify issues, design complex economic and financial models to analyze economic and financial data;
• Manage the research process, and supervising, training and mentoring junior analysts;
• Ensure the integrity and accuracy of analyses and opinions;
• Work with those testifying in judicial proceedings to provide economic analyses of mergers and other competition matters before the major competition authorities of the world;
• Assist with recruiting and training of new colleagues.

Desired Qualifications

• Strong achievement in a graduate degree program (Masters or PhD) with focused study in economics or another quantitative discipline;
• Extensive and relevant experience (7-11 years), preferably economics/antitrust consulting experience preferred;
• Demonstrated understanding of economic concepts, competition/regulatory authorities and quantitative and qualitative analysis methods;
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills;
• Experience managing and developing teams of junior colleagues;
• Executive client presence and interaction skills.

To Apply

To be considered for this position, submit through this job posting:

• Curriculum Vitae – please include current contact information;
• Covering letter – please describe your interest in a role with CRA's Antitrust and Competition Economics practice in Germany and how this role matches your goals;
• Writing Sample (optional) – we prefer a sole-authored submission from an existing work (work product, published article or academic paper) that includes your commentary on a quantitative analysis and/or relevant to the field of economics.

Work Location Flexibility

CRA creates a work environment that enables our colleagues to benefit from being together in the office to best deliver on our promise of career growth, mentorship and inclusivity. At the same time, we recognise that individuals realise a range of benefits when working from home periodically. We currently ask that individuals spend 3 to 4 days a week on average working in the office (which may include traveling to another CRA office or to a client's location), with specific days determined in coordination with your practice or team. At certain times of the year (e.g. holiday periods), additional remote work options are offered to those whose work commitments permit it, although our offices remain open for those who choose or need to be there.

Our Commitment to Diversity

Charles River Associates is an equal opportunity employer. As part of our focus on equity and inclusion, we work to ensure a fair and consistent hiring process. We celebrate diversity and we are committed to an inclusive work environment.

The statements included in this job description are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.