Simulation Chapter Lead
About this role
<h2><span><strong id="docs-internal-guid-ad035349-7fff-fdc4-2556-1cec63552140">Company</strong></span></h2><p><span>NestAI is a European AI lab for defence delivering the adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations. We develop adaptive intelligence for unmanned and command systems: AI that continuously learns from operational data and adapts to changing conditions.</span></p><p><span>NestOS is our open, modular and interoperable platform that enables this at scale and keeps capability evolution under sovereign European control. Founded in 2025 by Peter Sarlin, whose previous company Silo AI became Europe's largest AI acquisition, NestAI brings together over 200 engineers and scientists and partners with leading European defence forces and industry.</span></p><h2><span><strong id="docs-internal-guid-ad035349-7fff-fdc4-2556-1cec63552140">Role Description</strong></span></h2><p><span>The Simulation chapter builds NestOS's virtual world — a high-fidelity, Unreal Engine 5–based digital twin of real operational areas that lets us fly unmanned systems virtually and test them long before they reach the field. The team's core work is modelling the real world with physical accuracy: balancing between sensor fidelity, physical realism and run time performance. It delivers this as “simulation as a service”, giving the teams that build and test our autonomous systems reliable virtual environments to work against. In short, the chapter turns a virtual battlefield into the training and testing ground for autonomous systems.</span></p><p><span>We are looking for a Simulation Chapter Lead to lead both the people and the technology. You will grow and mentor a team of simulation, graphics and rendering engineers, own the technical direction of the digital twin, and make sure it reliably serves the teams that depend on it. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who is as comfortable coaching engineers and shaping a roadmap as they are reasoning about real-time rendering performance and physical fidelity.</span></p><h2><span>Day-to-Day Responsibilities:</span></h2><ul><li><p><span><strong>People leadership.</strong> Grow, mentor and coach a team of simulation and rendering engineers — hiring, one-on-ones, career development, and cultivating a collaborative, high-trust engineering culture.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Technical stewardship.</strong> Own the technical direction of the Unreal Engine 5 digital twin — balancing between sensor fidelity / realism and project specific requirements the world, extending it to new operational areas as needed.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Simulation as a service.</strong> Ensure the chapter delivers reliable, reproducible virtual test environments into the development loop — nightly edge-software releases and pre-merge developer testing — so teams can validate changes with confidence before they ship.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Scale and performance.</strong> Drive the work needed to simulate multi-UxV fleets across expanding terrains and operational areas, and lead performance engineering (throughput and frame rate) so simulation is fast enough to be genuinely useful day to day.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Collaboration & strategy.</strong> Work closely with the teams that rely on simulation to make sure it meets their needs, and help shape how the chapter's work supports the wider platform's direction.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Resource & talent management.</strong> Plan and prioritise the chapter's roadmap, balance capacity across competing requests, and build the team's structure and skills for where the platform is heading.</span></p></li></ul><h2><span><strong id="docs-internal-guid-ad035349-7fff-fdc4-2556-1cec63552140">Qualifications:</strong></span></h2><ul><li><p><span><strong>Proven leadership. </strong>You have led and grown engineering teams, and you get energy from helping others do their best work.</span></p></li><li><p><span><strong>Technical roots.</strong> A strong background in real-time 3D and game-engine development (Unreal Engine 5 ideal), simulation, computer graphics or rendering, typically with solid C++ experience — deep enough to earn your engineers' trust and make sound architectural calls.</span></p></li>