Programme Manager

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 the Programme Manager for Partner Management, you are the chief diplomat and commercial steward for our most critical external relationships. You will act as the central point of ownership for the entire partner and supplier ecosystem, ensuring that our key contractors and vendors operate as a seamless and high-performing extension of our core team. Reporting directly to the Programme Lead, your role is to architect and manage these vital partnerships, from contract negotiation to performance excellence, safeguarding the programme’s objectives and ensuring value, quality, and delivery are achieved across the entire supply chain.

The day-to-day

• Serving as the primary relationship owner for a portfolio of key strategic partners, suppliers, and contractors

• Leading regular, structured partner performance reviews to track progress against contractual obligations, SLAs, milestones, and quality standards

• Collaborating closely with Commercial and Legal teams to support the negotiation, drafting, and management of Statements of Work (SOWs), contract amendments, and change orders

• Acting as the first point of escalation for all partner-related issues, driving resolution by facilitating communication and structured problem-solving between internal teams and external partners

• Monitoring and reporting on partner performance, providing the Programme Lead with clear insights into supplier risks, dependencies, and opportunities

• Proactively identifying and mitigating commercial and delivery risks within the supply chain before they can impact the programme’s critical path

• Ensuring partner deliverables are seamlessly integrated into the master programme schedule and that dependencies are clearly understood and managed

• Fostering a collaborative, not just contractual, relationship with partners to encourage innovation, transparency, and a shared sense of mission success

You should apply if you

• Have 4-5 years of experience in a role with significant commercial and/or vendor management responsibility, preferably within a major consulting firm

• Have operated at a level equivalent to an Engagement Manager or Senior Consultant, where you were responsible for managing complex workstreams and client/vendor relationships

• Possess strong commercial acumen and a deep understanding of contract management, including experience with SOWs, SLAs, and performance-based contracts

• Are an exceptional negotiator and influencer, adept at building consensus and driving outcomes with senior stakeholders, both internal and external

• Are a natural relationship builder, able to establish trust and credibility with partners while holding them accountable to rigorous standards

• Have a proven track record of managing supplier performance, diagnosing issues, and implementing effective recovery plans

• Are highly skilled in communicating complex commercial and performance data to an executive audience in a clear and impactful way

• Combine strategic thinking with a pragmatic, hands-on approach to managing the details of contracts and deliverables

• Are eligible to obtain and maintain the necessary level of security clearance

• Bring a high degree of resilience, diplomacy, and commercial savvy to challenging situations

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.

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

• A focus on outcomes, not time-tracking

• Competitive compensation and VSOP options

• Relocation support

• Social and education allowances

• Regular company events and all-hands to bring together employees as one team across Europe

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 .