--- title: 'Software Test & Validation Engineer at Harmattan AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/software-test-validation-engineer-harmattan-ai-paris-xhyj6h5nbybk' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Software Test & Validation Engineer at Harmattan AI - **Company:** [Harmattan AI](https://feeny.ai/companies/harmattan-ai) - **Location:** Paris, France - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-04-07 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/harmattan-ai/45c17e53-8285-4095-93db-a50d40efa038/application **Skills:** Python, Embedded Systems, Mechatronics, Test Benches, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), DevOps, Docker, Jenkins, Git, Linux, C++, Robotics, Drone Technology, CAD, Mechanical Design > Develop hardware benches and software pipelines to automate validation processes for autonomous defense systems. The role involves creating Python scripts for log analysis, integrating hardware tests into CI/CD pipelines, and building Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test benches to simulate flight conditions. ## Job description ## ABOUT US Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces. Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected. ## About the Role As a Software Test & Validation Engineer, you build the systems that let us trust our drones' software before it ever flies a mission. You design the automated tests and pipelines that put our flight software through its paces, from pure simulation (SITL) to hardware-in-the-loop (HITL), and turn the results into clear signal for the engineering teams. Our validation team is scaling fast, from testing a handful of drones to testing them by the hundred, and you are how that scale becomes possible. Your main instrument is the SITL/HITL simulation environment built by our tooling team. A big part of the job is to use it to its full potential and to help improve it continuously: it's recent and not yet fully representative of reality, so your feedback and contributions are what will make it a trustworthy test bench. On top of that, new systems to validate arrive on a regular basis, so you'll repeatedly stand up test coverage for platforms you're seeing for the first time. This is a broad role, and we're deliberately hiring for a range of profiles rather than a single narrow one. We're looking for engineers with scope beyond pure software, system-level thinking, a feel for architecture, a statistical approach to noisy data, and some physical intuition. Depending on your strengths, you might focus on test-scenario design and coverage, on the automation and CI pipeline that runs tests on every build, on capturing and replaying flight telemetry, or on deepening the simulation itself. Tell us in your application where you fit best. What you'll do (the mix depends on your profile, you won't do all of it) - Test design & content: Define the scenarios that catch real bugs, decide what to measure, and turn noisy flight metrics into stable, meaningful pass/fail and regression signals. - Drive and improve the SITL/HITL environment: Use the tooling team's simulation bench as your primary test instrument, push it hard, and feed back concrete improvements to make it more representative, models, scenarios, missing capabilities. - Automation & tooling: Write clean Python tools to load, parse and analyse test outputs, detect regressions, and produce reports the engineering teams act on. - CI/CD integration: Integrate simulation and hardware tests into the continuous-integration pipeline so every new build is validated automatically, fast, and reproducibly. - Onboard new systems: As new platforms arrive, build the test scenarios, metrics and coverage to validate them, often starting from scratch. - Telemetry & replay: Capture flight and test telemetry and make it replayable and analysable, so an issue seen once can be reproduced and understood. What we're looking for (we don't expect every point, show us your strengths) - Background in software engineering, embedded systems, mechatronics, aerospace, or a closely related field. - Strong Python for test tooling and automation (C++ is a plus, and more important for some of these profiles than others). - Scope beyond pure coding: system-level thinking, an ability to grasp a whole architecture, a statistical mindset for noisy test data, and enough physical intuition to reason about flight behaviour. - Some combination of: test-scenario/framework design; CI/CD and DevOps tooling (Docker, Jenkins/GitLab CI, Git, Linux); simulation (SITL/HITL); or telemetry capture and analysis. - A validation mindset: rigor, attention to edge cases, and healthy scepticism about what "passing" really means. - Clear communication and ownership, you'll work hand in hand with the flight-software, simulation/tooling and hardware teams. - Bonus: a background in drones or robotics; experience with statistical analysis of noisy test data. We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI. ## About Harmattan AI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Harmattan AI builds autonomous defense systems—including strike and surveillance drones—using AI-driven autonomy and real-time intelligence for allied forces. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, unicorn status) - **Headquarters**: Paris, France - **Founded**: 2024 - **Founders**: Mouad M’Ghari (CEO & Co‑founder) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Defense & autonomous systems - **Target customers**: B2G – NATO member states, ministries of defence (UK, France, and others) - **Mission**: Deliver scalable, sovereign AI capabilities to allied forces by building mission‑ready autonomous systems that respond in real time, adapt under pressure, and deliver an edge in contested environments. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/) ## Products & Services - **Platform Autonomy**: AI‑driven autonomy layer for drones, enabling real‑time decision‑making and adaptation. - **Mission Orchestration**: Software for coordinating multiple autonomous assets (e.g., collaborative air combat). - **Precision Strike**: Attritable strike drones with embedded AI for target engagement. - **VSHORAD (Very Short‑Range Air Defence)**: Counter‑drone interception systems. - **Persistent ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance)**: Autonomous surveillance platforms for continuous battlefield awareness. - **Electronic Warfare Platforms**: Systems for electronic attack and protection. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/) ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: $1.4 billion (as of January 2026, after Series B). [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/) - **Key Metric**: Total funding ~$240 million ($200 M Series B led by Dassault Aviation + over $40 M prior). [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Dassault Aviation (lead investor & strategic partner), multiple NATO allies as customers. - **Growth Signals**: - Achieved unicorn status within two years of founding. - Awarded several “programs of record” by UK and French Ministries of Defence. [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/) - Scaling industrial manufacturing of drone interception and electronic warfare platforms. - Headcount grew to 131 employees (Built In estimate). [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/harmattan-ai) ## Competitive Advantages - **Two‑layer autonomy model**: Combines platform‑level AI with mission‑orchestration software for coordinated, scalable autonomous forces. - **Sovereign AI**: Focus on delivering non‑dependent capabilities to allied nations, differentiating from US‑centric primes. - **Attritable systems**: Cost‑effective, expendable drones that enable mass deployment without prohibitive losses. - **Speed to relevance**: Claims rapid iteration and deployment cycles, with conflict‑ready production. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/) ## Strategic Focus - Expand product offering into new operational domains (e.g., collaborative air combat with Dassault Aviation). - Scale industrial manufacturing of drone interception, electronic warfare, and ISR platforms. - Deepen integration of embedded AI into next‑generation air combat systems (future combat air systems). [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/) ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: “Elite builders” who “thrive on complexity, move with urgency, and own their work end to end.” Emphasis on purpose, technical excellence, and real‑world impact. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/careers/) - **Values**: Tackle the hardest problems, build what matters, move at the speed of relevance, and aim to redefine frontiers. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/careers/) - **Work policy**: Hybrid model with a mix of remote and on‑site; many roles are in‑office at locations in Paris, Lausanne, London, Arlington (TX), Wissous, Poland, UAE, and Morocco. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/harmattan-ai) - **Engineering culture**: Hands‑on development of mission‑critical autonomous systems; strong R&D focus across AI, computer vision, RF hardware, propulsion, and mission planning. - **Perks**: Not explicitly listed, but the company highlights the opportunity to protect front‑line personnel and shape the future of autonomous defence. ## Sources 1. [harmattan.ai](https://harmattan.ai/) 2. [harmattan.ai/careers](https://harmattan.ai/careers/) 3. [harmattan.ai/open-roles](https://harmattan.ai/open-roles) 4. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/harmattan-ai) 5. [tech.eu](https://tech.eu/2026/01/12/french-startup-harmattan-ai-hits-unicorn-status-as-it-strikes-deal-with-french-aerospace-group/) ## Other roles at Harmattan AI - [Forward Deployed Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-software-engineer-harmattan-ai-united-arab-emirates-h1ph5ed6wera) — United Arab Emirates - [Embedded Electrical Engineer - SoM](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-electrical-engineer-som-harmattan-ai-zurich-nfmnmqmj7qkw) — Zurich, Switzerland - [Embedded Electrical Engineer - SoM](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-electrical-engineer-som-harmattan-ai-lausanne-25bs7fgkpqjz) — Lausanne, Switzerland - [Product Operations Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/product-operations-intern-harmattan-ai-paris-598y5hqzq0v7) — Paris, France - [Embedded Electrical Engineer - SoM](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-electrical-engineer-som-harmattan-ai-paris-4kfy8a0s9nsw) — Paris, France - [Software Engineer - Gimbal](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-gimbal-harmattan-ai-paris-964y8cys7ssa) — Paris, France - [Forward Deployed Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-software-engineer-harmattan-ai-paris-t3v3brcs9b32) — Paris, France - [Drone System Validation Technician and Pilot](https://feeny.ai/job/drone-system-validation-technician-and-pilot-harmattan-ai-rabat-z2eczm57bd4w) — Rabat, Morocco - [Validation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/validation-engineer-harmattan-ai-rabat-j6rf9bn7tje4) — Rabat, Morocco - [Flight Operations Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/flight-operations-engineer-harmattan-ai-rabat-m3nxbfykp8at) — Rabat, Morocco