Director Finance Platform

EngineersOfAI; München; On-site; EUR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Helsing, a defence AI company, is seeking a Director of Finance Platform to provide strategic and operational leadership across accounting & reporting, treasury, tax compliance and accounts payable.

Reporting directly to the Finance Director, you will translate finance strategy into robust, efficient delivery spanning the whole business and interact with leadership teams across Product and Engineering, Commercial and People.

Job description

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 Director of Finance Platform, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across a large breadth of Helsing's Finance function, covering accounting & reporting, treasury, tax compliance, and accounts payable. With a span of responsibility that touches every part of the business, from how we manage our treasury and accounts payable, to how we account for revenue, plan our finances, and fulfil our tax obligations, this role is fundamental to how Helsing operates, grows, and maintains the trust of its customers, partners, and investors.

Reporting directly to the Finance Director, this role is responsible for translating finance strategy into robust and efficient operational delivery, ensuring the function operates with the controls, structure, systems and rigour expected of a fast-scaling, mission-driven technology company. The breadth of this role creates significant influence across multiple functions and leadership teams, from Product and Engineering through to Commercial and People, making this as much a business leadership role as a finance one.

The day-to-day

Strategy & Planning

• Partner with the Finance Director and Finance Transformation team to establish strategic plans and objectives for the Finance Platform function, and ensure these are effectively cascaded and executed across the team
• Contribute to the development of policies and operating frameworks relevant to Finance
• Play a leading role in creating a high performing finance leadership team and in enabling the broader organization through the many financial areas that underpin the smooth running of the business and execution of new strategic business initiatives.

Accounting & Reporting

• Ensure accounting operations, month-end close, and statutory reporting are delivered accurately and on time across all entities
• Maintain a robust control environment and ensure accounting policies remain appropriate as the business evolves
• Serve as the senior Finance lead for all internal and external audits, including statutory audits across Helsing's legal entities. This also means that you will be taking the lead in our future Audit Committee
• Ensure audit readiness is maintained as a standing operational standard, not a periodic exercise
• Own the resolution of audit findings, ensuring agreed actions are tracked, escalated where necessary, and closed within agreed timescales
• Work closely with Internal Audit, Legal, and Compliance to maintain a robust internal control framework across the Finance Platform function
• Provide the Finance Director and relevant governance bodies with clear and timely reporting on audit status and control effectiveness

Accounts Payable

• Manage accounts payable operations, ensuring invoices and payments are processed accurately, on time, and in line with internal controls and policies
• Drive efficiency and automation across the accounts payable process, including through AI-enabled tooling
• Maintain strong supplier relationsh