Configuration 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 Configuration Manager, you will own the design, implementation and continuous improvement of configuration management across Helsing's complex drone products. Working across engineering, manufacturing and quality teams, you will establish and govern product baselines, lead change control processes and ensure full traceability from system requirement through to as-built hardware.

The day-to-day

• Develop, implement and maintain the Configuration Management Plan, establishing and tracking functional, allocated and product baselines across the full programme lifecycle, ensuring consistency between system requirements, design documentation and as-built hardware

• Lead the Configuration Control Board and govern the full Engineering Change Request and Order process, coordinating cross-functional stakeholders to drive timely, traceable change implementation without disrupting production continuity

• Plan, coordinate and execute Functional and Physical Configuration Audits, producing accurate Configuration Status Accounting reports that give project stakeholders and senior leadership clear, timely visibility of configuration compliance

• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing and quality teams to ensure smooth configuration transitions from design into production, embedding CM rigour into development workflows rather than applying it retrospectively

• Derive and continuously improve internal CM processes and standards, providing structured training to cross-functional teams to build organisation-wide configuration literacy and reduce audit risk

You should apply if you

• Have owned configuration management programmes within aviation, aerospace or defence, including the governance of PLM, PDM and ERP systems such as Siemens Teamcenter, SolidWorks PDM or SAP

• Have led Configuration Control Boards and managed end-to-end ECR/ECO processes, demonstrating the ability to drive cross-functional change implementation in heavily regulated environments

• Apply working knowledge of industry CM standards such as EIA-649, MIL-HDBK-61A and AS9100 to real programme contexts, translating compliance requirements into practical, auditable processes

• Can bridge mechanical hardware, electronics and software development lifecycles, maintaining configuration integrity across disciplines without losing sight of the programme-level picture

• Act decisively with minimal guidance, own outcomes end-to-end and initiate solutions without waiting for direction

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

• Experience designing and delivering CM training programmes for cross-functional engineering teams in fast-paced, iterative hardware development environments

• Familiarity with configuration management in dual-use or export-controlled defence programmes, including the documentation rigour required for regulatory submissions

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 : regular 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

• A hands-on onboarding program (affectionately labelled “Infraduction”), in which you will be building tooling and applications to be used across the company. This is your opportunity to learn our tech stack, explore the company, and learn how we get things done - all whilst working with other engineering teams from day one

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 .