Senior Systems Integration Engineer | Netherlands
Darwin Defense have partnered with a fast-scaling defence technology company that designs and manufactures unmanned aircraft systems, deployed globally in support of defence, security, and critical infrastructure operations. As the business grows, they’re building out a specialist function focused on system reliability, field performance, and rapid response – the team that steps in when something breaks in the field and needs to be understood, fixed, and proven fixed, fast.
This is a hands-on, high-ownership role. You won’t be a specialist in one lane – you’ll be the engineer who ties everything together. RF, electrical, software, mechanical, navigation: you connect the work so it becomes one reliable system, not a pile of parts that mostly work. You turn messy field issues into clear requirements, build the test that proves the fix, and drive the call on whether it’s genuinely ready. When something breaks across domains, you pull in the right specialists and own it through to closure.
Why Join?
- Real ownership – define the requirement, build the test, run it, own the release call.
- A small, high-trust team where your work has direct, visible impact on systems already deployed in demanding environments.
- A high-growth company scaling fast off recent investment – real room to grow as the team expands.
- Real technical influence – you drive the go/no-go call on system readiness, not just execute someone else’s plan.
- An informal, close-knit culture built for engineers who take on hard problems and just get them done.
The Role
- Translate operational issues and field failures into clear system requirements, interface documentation, and acceptance criteria.
- Integrate radios, avionics, payloads, sensors, navigation systems, and software across a complete unmanned aircraft platform.
- Reproduce and lead root-cause investigation of field issues spanning RF, power, software, networking, mechanical, and operational factors.
- Build and maintain representative test environments; define logging, instrumentation, and data-quality requirements ahead of testing.
- Plan and run bench, lab, ground, and flight testing, including readiness evidence and go/no-go recommendations.
- Own release documentation, installation guidance, and rollback procedures; support field deployments and occasional urgent technical response.
What you will bring
- Strong hands-on experience integrating UAV, robotics, aerospace, or other mission-critical autonomous systems.
- Real working knowledge of autopilot platforms (e.g. PX4, MAVLink), flight controllers, telemetry, and ground-control systems – configuration, not just flying.
- Working competence across electrical, embedded software, networking, RF, and mechanical integration – enough to speak every specialist’s language and spot where things break at the seams.
- Experience planning and running flight, range, or field tests, safely and rigorously.
- Sharp data-analysis skills (Python, MATLAB, or similar) – and the judgement to call a halt rather than force a conclusion.
- Typically 5+ years in integration, verification, flight-test, or mission-systems work.
- Ready to travel, work outdoors, and take part in a planned, compensated on-call rotation.
Location & Package
Based in the Netherlands, with a strong benefits package including pension, generous holiday allowance.
Salary commensurate with experience – reach out to discuss.
Reach out to Kyle Gauntlett, Executive Defence Consultant (kyle.gauntlett@darwinrecruitment.com) if you’re open to hearing more.
Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Kyle Gauntlett