Quantum Systems, a Munich drone maker whose fixed-wing surveillance aircraft have logged thousands of hours over Ukraine, listed 11 open positions this month across Germany and Kyiv. In Tallinn, Milrem Robotics posted the same number as it scales production of the THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle now in service with eight NATO armies. In Lisbon, TEKEVER is filling nine roles to support maritime drone operations with the Royal Air Force and European Maritime Safety Agency. They sit at the front of a longer list. European drone companies are hiring at a pace not seen in at least a decade, driven by large new funding programmes, operational lessons from Ukraine and growing demand for autonomous systems across every domain.
DefenceJobs tracks over 500 European defence technology companies, including dozens working on autonomous platforms across 31 countries. For candidates considering a move into the sector, this is a practical guide to who builds what, where they are based and where to find open roles.
In the air
The aerial drone segment is the most visible part of the market, and it is hiring across the full stack.
Quantum Systems, founded in 2015 near Munich, builds the Vector series of fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The company recently invested in Ukrainian manufacturer Wiy Drones, backing 15,000 interceptor drones for the National Guard of Ukraine funded by the German government. It also unveiled a jet-powered training target drone called the RAT, developed with Airbus Defence and Space, at the Munich Security Conference in February. Open roles span mechanical development engineers in Gilching, UAS instructors in Kyiv and technical support managers.
In Portugal, TEKEVER has nine positions open as it expands a maritime surveillance drone business built around the AR3 fixed-wing UAS. The AR3 has logged over 10,000 flight hours in Ukraine and was selected by the RAF as the StormShroud electronic warfare platform. Backed by the NATO Innovation Fund, the company operates from Lisbon, Southampton and Toulouse. Current openings include project managers and engineering positions.
Auterion in Zurich does not build airframes. It develops the operating system that powers drones from multiple manufacturers. Its Skynode X autopilot and Nemyx swarm coordination software allow a single operator to control drones from different makers in GPS-denied environments. In February, Auterion and Ukrainian firm Airlogix formed a joint venture to mass-produce AI-guided drones in Germany, with the Ukrainian government ordering thousands of units. The company has six open roles, primarily in software and systems engineering.
On the ground
Milrem has shipped more than 150 THeMIS vehicles to Ukraine alone as part of a Netherlands-led initiative. That production run is what makes Estonia the reference point for European ground robotics.
Milrem Robotics in Tallinn builds the THeMIS tracked unmanned ground vehicle, now acquired by eight NATO members including France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. In March, the company demonstrated a minefield breaching configuration at Enforce Tac in Nuremberg. It has 11 open positions, including software engineers for its autonomy team and summer internships in middleware and embedded systems.
ARX Robotics in Munich is building modular ground robots and opening what it describes as Europe's largest production facility for autonomous defence systems. Two positions are open. In Latvia, Origin Robotics develops the BEAK precision-guided weapon system and the BLAZE drone interceptor, a man-portable system with fully autonomous target acquisition that can be assembled and deployed within 10 minutes. Origin is part of the UK-Latvia led Drone Coalition and has six open roles.
At sea and below
Lobster Robotics in Delft has six openings. Three of them say something about the whole sector: Rust software engineer, acoustic signal processing engineer, robotics control engineer. Lobster Robotics builds autonomous underwater drones for seabed mapping and marine defence. Part of NATO's DIANA innovation programme, it is hiring in The Hague.
Maritime Robotics in Trondheim, Norway, has built uncrewed surface vessels since 2005. Its Mariner X autonomous ship has been used in NATO exercises including REPMUS and Task Force X Baltic. The company has one open position.
Against drones
Counter-drone technology has become its own sector, with distinct companies focused on detection, tracking and interception.
CERBAIR in Montrouge, outside Paris, specialises in radio frequency detection and neutralisation of hostile drones. Its Hydra systems are deployed with the French Navy's offshore patrol vessels and across French military installations. Five positions are open, including programme managers and a signal processing intern.
Nordic Air Defence in Stockholm is developing a low-cost interceptor system that it says costs a tenth of conventional solutions. Founded in 2023, the company has two open roles. Frankenburg Technologies in Tallinn, which is building production hubs in the UK and Germany, raised a €30 million Series A in early 2026 to mass-produce low-cost precision-guided interceptor missiles at a rate of over 100 per day per facility. Four positions are open in Tallinn and Riga.
The software bottleneck
The hardest positions to fill across these companies are not for mechanical engineers or drone pilots. They are for embedded software engineers, autonomy stack developers, signal processing specialists and AI/ML engineers.
Helsing, headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, London and Paris, makes this visible at scale. The company, valued at around €5 billion in its most recent round, has 27 open positions. Helsing builds AI software for defence, including for the CA-1 Europa autonomous combat aircraft being developed with HENSOLDT. Its Nemesis software processes battlefield data across land, air, sea and cyber domains. The roles it is hiring for are overwhelmingly software-oriented: machine learning engineers, backend developers, platform engineers.
Dronetag in Prague represents a different part of the software layer. The company builds remote identification and tracking systems that make drones digitally visible, a regulatory requirement becoming infrastructure for both civilian and military airspace management. Five roles are open, from embedded Linux engineers to hardware designers.
Companies like Auterion, Milrem and Lobster Robotics are all competing for the same pool of embedded C++ and Rust developers, computer vision engineers and ROS specialists. Our career guide to breaking into European defence tech covers clearance, relocation and the learning curve.
Where the money is going
On 25 March, the European Commission proposed AGILE, a €115 million programme to fund 20 to 30 defence technology projects at up to 100% cost coverage. Unmanned systems, AI and drones are explicitly listed as priority areas. The programme targets SMEs, startups and scale-ups, and aims for a time-to-grant of four months once adopted. It still needs approval from the European Parliament and Council before becoming operational, likely in early 2027.
In February, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom launched the LEAP initiative for Low-cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms. Drawing on operational lessons from Ukraine, LEAP coordinates the development and mass production of affordable counter-drone weapons and autonomous aerial systems. First contracts are expected in 2027.
European governments are committing institutional money to the kind of companies profiled here. Most of these roles do not require security clearance or military experience. Browse all open positions at European defence technology companies, or explore the sector on our interactive European defence tech map.
