This is not a coordination role. It is a leadership role, accountable for programme outcomes that matter.
The day-to-day
Lead end-to-end delivery of Air Domain programmes in France, maintaining accountability for scope, schedule, risk and customer commitments across the full programme lifecycle
Serve as the primary interface with the DGA, the French Air Force and industrial partners — building and sustaining trusted relationships at both working and senior levels
Translate complex contractual and operational requirements from French defence customers into structured programme plans that engineering and product teams can execute against
Identify, escalate and actively mitigate programme risks before they become programme failures — owning the risk register and maintaining a clear-eyed picture of delivery health at all times
Drive cross-functional alignment across engineering, product, legal and commercial teams, ensuring internal stakeholders understand customer commitments and external stakeholders understand what Helsing can deliver
Structure and own programme reporting, governance cadences and milestone reviews — both internally and with customers and partners
Contribute to business development by supporting proposals, shaping statements of work and bringing deep knowledge of the French defence acquisition process to pre-contract conversations
Represent Helsing at industry events, programme reviews and government forums as a credible and senior face of the company's Air Domain activity in France
You should apply if you
Have delivered complex, multi-stakeholder programmes in the French aerospace and defence sector — and can point to the outcomes you drove, not just the plans you wrote
Have operated at the interface of strategy and execution — comfortable building a programme plan from first principles and equally comfortable getting into the weeds when delivery is at risk
Bring a rigorous academic foundation in engineering, technology or business, combined with professional experience in a high-performance environment (strategy consulting, defence prime or equivalent)
Communicate with precision and credibility in both French and English — able to represent Helsing at senior customer and government levels in both languages
Are eligible to obtain French national defence security clearance (Habilitation à l'accès au secret de la défense nationale), a requirement for this role given its engagement with classified programmes and government counterparts
Note: We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematically under-represented. We encourage you to apply even if you don't meet all the listed qualifications; ability and impact cannot be summarised in a few bullet points.
Nice to have
Direct experience working within or alongside the DGA (e.g., as an ingénieur de l'armement, on secondment, or as a close industrial partner)
Understand how the DGA and the broader French MoD acquisition ecosystem works from the inside: its processes, its culture, its decision-making rhythms and its key institutional actors
Exposure to AI, software or dual-use technology programmes — particularly in the context of integration with legacy defence platforms or C2 systems
Experience supporting or leading bids and proposals in the French defence procurement environment
A network across France's aerospace and defence industrial base (primes, ETIs and key subcontractors)
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.
