(Senior) Programme Manager - Military Exercises

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 (Air) - Military Exercises, you will sit at the intersection of Chief Engineering, Flight Test, Product and Programme, co-ordinating how we take part in military exercises. Your first focus is a major multinational air exercise, which you will own from first registration to final debrief. You will translate exercise requirements into engineering and product decisions, align partners inside and outside Helsing, and act as the point of contact for the customer and other involved Bundeswehr stakeholders. Exercises are where our systems meet real operators in realistic conditions, so the quality of your preparation shapes what the Bundeswehr learns about our capability, and what we learn about theirs.

• Own Helsing's participation in a multinational air exercise end to end, covering registration, applications, airworthiness and certification evidence, security concept, logistics and coordination of on-site execution

• Serve as the first point of contact for customer, Bundeswehr and exercise-authority stakeholders, resolving requirements questions and keeping commitments realistic and documented

• Translate exercise and interoperability requirements into a prioritised change list for the Chief Engineering and Product teams, and track those changes to a flight-ready baseline

• Build and maintain the integrated exercise schedule, risk register and readiness gates, flagging slippage early enough for the team to act

• Handle classified material and information-security obligations correctly throughout, from participant clearances to data handling and post-exercise reporting
  
  

• Have a proven track record in coordinating military exercises or comparable engineering test programmes in defence, aerospace industry or related sectors   

• Represent our organisation credibly with customers, partners and suppliers, handling contractual and operational conversations without close supervision

• Communicate fluently in German and English, in writing and in person, with technical and non-technical audiences alike

• Have a university degree (or equivalent experience) in any subject relevant to these sectors, including but not limited to mechanical, industrial or aerospace engineering  

• Work securely with classified data and understand the information-security rules that govern it

• Keep teams moving when timelines compress and requirements are still taking shape

• Are a high performer who thrives in a fast-paced environment    

• Are collaborative, humble and a problem-solver   

• Are willing to travel regularly 

• Are ready to meet all necessary requirements for a security clearance according to the respective national laws   
  
  

• Familiarity with tactical data links, particularly Link 16

• Working knowledge of security gateways, cryptography, data networks (esp. red-black separation)