Process & Internal Control System Lead

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

Helsing's finance function is scaling, and this role is responsible for ensuring every process that underpins it can withstand the scrutiny that comes with that. As Lead for Process and Internal Control System, you will transform the finance function's workflows from informal, undocumented practices into a formal, auditable, and AI-monitored Internal Control System. You will be the authority on what the finance function does, how it does it, and whether the controls in place are sufficient for a government audit, or a regulatory inquiry. Working across Finance Operations, Engineering, Legal, and external auditors, you will design controls that function in practice rather than only on paper.

The day-to-day

• Own the Finance ICS end-to-end, including control objectives, control activities, RACI matrices, risk registers, and testing schedules, and report ICS status and open deficiencies to the Senior Director and Audit Committee on a quarterly basis
• Map every core finance process, covering O2C, P2P, R2R, and Treasury, using process-mining tools, then convert those maps into operational controls with measurable testing criteria
• Manage the internal control testing cycle, coordinate with external auditors and Big 4 advisors, and maintain audit-ready documentation for government contracts including CAS compliance, DCAA standards, and NATO programme cost submissions
• Use AI process-mining tools such as Celonis and SAP Signavio to auto-generate and validate process maps from SAP transaction logs, and deploy LLMs to draft risk-control matrices, policy templates, and audit response packages for human review and finalisation
• Partner with the Finance Data Engineer to embed automated control monitoring into finance pipelines, implementing self-healing detection logic that escalates to human review only where required

You should apply if you

• Have designed, tested, and maintained an Internal Control System in practice, with deep working knowledge of frameworks such as COSO, SOX Section 404, or equivalent European standards
• Have experience coordinating with external auditors and managing audit-ready documentation, and understand what auditors look for at each stage of a review
• Can use process-mining and GRC tooling, such as SAP GRC, ServiceNow IRM, Celonis, or SAP Signavio, and document processes using BPMN, swimlane diagrams, or risk-control matrices
• Understand financial reporting standards including IFRS 15, IAS 38, and multi-entity consolidation at a level sufficient to design controls that reflect the underlying accounting
• Communicate control requirements clearly to non-finance audiences and work as a trusted partner across Finance, Legal, Engineering, and external advisors

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 with government contract finance controls, including FAR/DFAR cost accounting, ITAR compliance, or NATO programme cost tracking, or background in a Big 4 audit
• Familiarity with LLM-assisted drafting for compliance documentation and audit response packages

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 .