Maritime Programme Leader - Defence AI & Strategy

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.

As Senior Programme Manager, Maritime, you will shape Helsing's strategic partnerships and the customer programmes that are defining the future of naval warfare. Working directly with industry partners, procurement agencies and armed forces, you will own the strategy, vision and roadmap for current and future maritime defence programmes. This means building a deep understanding of customer needs, developing new opportunities with navies and the broader defence industry, and driving complex programmes from early engagement through to delivery.

You will work alongside a distinctive partnerships and programmes team, drawing on varied expertise to shape how partners and customers think about software and AI in defence.

Shape and execute Helsing's market strategy, vision and roadmap for current and future maritime defence programmes

Anticipate market trends and client needs to identify and develop new business opportunities with navies, armed forces and industry partners

Take end-to-end responsibility for complex defence programmes, from early-stage engagements through to high-quality, on-time delivery

Lead programmes in close collaboration with government customers, industry partners and internal stakeholders, ensuring alignment at every stage

Own strategic campaigns, coordinating all activities and decisions required to deliver in line with Helsing's strategic goals

Have built a track record of leading complex programmes across both business development and delivery within defence, government or related professional services

Bring domain knowledge relevant to maritime defence, developed through experience or education in areas such as political science, international security, business administration, data science or engineering

Take end-to-end ownership of strategic challenges, driving programmes from initial engagement to successful completion

Communicate and collaborate effectively with senior government, armed forces and industry stakeholders, building lasting and trusted relationships

Meet the requirements for national security clearance in the applicable country

Note:

We operate in an industry where women, as well as other minority groups, are systematicallyunder-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.

Bring prior military or domain experience, particularly in naval warfare or related operational roles

Hold existing relationships with key stakeholders in European naval procurement or defence industry ecosystems

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…