Senior Programme Manager - International Business Development Air

Who we are

Helsing is a defence AI company. Our mission is to protect our democracies. We aim to achieve technological leadership, so that open societies can continue to make sovereign decisions and control their ethical standards.

As democracies, we believe we have a special responsibility to be thoughtful about the development and deployment of powerful technologies like AI. We take this responsibility seriously.

We are an ambitious and committed team of engineers, AI specialists and customer-facing programme managers. We are looking for mission-driven people to join our European teams – and apply their skills to solve the most complex and impactful problems. We embrace an open and transparent culture that welcomes healthy debates on the use of technology in defence, its benefits, and its ethical implications.

The role

As Senior Programme Manager, you will guide the international roll-out of one of our flagship air products across European markets. You will coordinate the campaign end to end, bringing together customers, partners and senior stakeholders inside Helsing around a shared roadmap. Day to day, you will shape the materials that carry our product story, from customer presentations to white papers and brochures, and make sure every meeting moves the campaign forward. You will translate complex technology into clear value for defence customers, and feed what you learn in the field back into our product and go-to-market plans. Your work will open new markets for Helsing and support our wider strategic goals.

The day-to-day

• Coordinate the international campaign for our air product across European markets, keeping the roadmap, milestones and internal owners aligned from first engagement to contract opportunity

• Prepare customer-facing materials, including presentations, white papers, product brochures and briefing packs, to a standard that can go in front of ministries and armed forces without rework

• Run the meeting cycle with customers, partners and senior Helsing stakeholders, from agenda and briefing to follow-up actions and tracked outcomes

• Explain our product credibly to defence customers, translating technical capability into clear operational and commercial value

• Report campaign progress and market insight to Helsing's leadership, and surface risks early enough to act on them

You should apply if you

• Have a proven track record (minimum 5 years' experience) as business development manager/ programme manager/ consultant in defence, aerospace industry or related sectors  

• Have a university degree (or equivalent experience) in any subject relevant to these sectors, including but not limited to political science, mechanical, industrial or aerospace engineering  

• Are a high performer who thrives in a fast-paced environment   

• Are collaborative, humble and a problem-solver  

• Have the ability to analyse and present complex issues

• Are willing to travel regularly

• Are business fluent in English and German

• Are ready to meet all necessary requirements for a security clearance according to the respective national laws 

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: regularly 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.

Helsing's Candidate Privacy and Confidentiality Regime can be found here.