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Helsing is a defence AI company focused on protecting democracies through technological leadership and responsible AI development. As Programme Manager - Air Domain, you will own the delivery plan for Helsing's UK air programmes, serving as the critical link between the company's engineering teams, industry partners, and defence customers.
Your primary responsibilities include:
- Acting as the daily operational bridge between Helsing and partner engineering teams, identifying and resolving interface and integration blockers before they impact trial or flight schedules
- Managing customer relationships at the working level, translating operational requirements and user feedback into a prioritised engineering backlog
- Owning the complete delivery plan, milestones, and cross-partner dependencies, maintaining a single current view of progress, risk, and critical path
- Briefing senior military and industry stakeholders on programme status, risk, and capability; deputising for the Senior Programme Manager as needed
- Bringing operational air-power judgment into design and trial decisions, translating operational context into practical language for engineers
- Tracking capability delivery to end users, ensuring each milestone advances the programme toward deployment
You will work alongside the Senior Programme Manager and represent the programme to senior military and industry audiences. The role requires deep understanding of how air forces operate and will evolve, combined with the ability to translate between operational needs and technical constraints.
Helsing operates at the cutting edge of defence AI, including work on uncrewed combat air systems, autonomy, and crewed-uncrewed teaming concepts. The company emphasises ethical responsibility, transparent culture, and healthy debate on technology's role in defence.
REQUIREMENTS:
- Operational air-power background: must have served in an operational air-power role and understand how combat air missions are planned, commanded, and executed
- Programme delivery experience: demonstrated track record delivering complex programmes or workstreams with external industry or government partners, with evidence of capability reaching the end user through your coordination
- Requirements translation: ability to translate operational requirements into technical priorities and technical constraints into language senior audiences can act on
- UK defence knowledge: understanding of UK defence acquisition, operational test and evaluation, and airworthiness processes
- Senior stakeholder communication: credible communication with senior defence and industry stakeholders, including at short notice
- Security clearance: must hold or be eligible to hold UK security clearance and be based in the UK
NICE TO HAVE:
- Combat air aircrew experience (having flown)
- Familiarity with uncrewed combat air systems, autonomy, or crewed-uncrewed teaming concepts
- Programme management qualification (APM, PMP, MSP) or Agile delivery experience
