Air Programme Manager: Deliver Critical Defence AI Capabilities

Helsing GmbH; Greater London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Learning allowance 500€/£450 yearly

Gym membership

Mental health support

Social events

Enhanced parental leave 22 weeks

Job summary

Helsing seeks a Programme Manager, Air, to own delivery plans for UK air programmes, coordinating with industry partners and defence customers to translate air-power needs into engineering priorities. You will align milestones, manage risks, and represent the programme to military and industry audiences.

You will bring practical experience in combat air planning, cross-partner coordination, and an understanding of UK defence processes. UK security clearance eligibility and UK base are required.

Qualifications

• Have served in an operational air-power role and understand how combat air missions are planned, commanded and executed.
• Have delivered a complex programme or workstream with external industry or government partners, and can point to capability that reached the user because of your coordination and guidance.
• Translate operational requirements into technical priorities, and technical constraints into language senior audiences can act on.
• Understand UK defence acquisition, operational test and evaluation, and airworthiness processes.
• Communicate credibly in front of senior defence and industry stakeholders, including at short notice.
• Hold, or are eligible to hold, UK security clearance and are based in the UK.

Responsibilities

• Act as the daily link between Helsing and partner engineering teams, resolving interface and integration blockers before they affect trial or flight dates
• Manage customer relationships at working level, converting operational requirements and user feedback into a prioritised backlog that engineering teams can act on
• Own the delivery plan, milestones and cross-partner dependencies, keeping a single, current view of progress, risk and critical path
• Brief senior military and industry stakeholders on programme status, risk and capability, and deputise for the Senior Programme Manager when needed
• Bring operational air-power judgement into design and trial decisions, explaining operational context to engineers in practical terms
• Track the delivery of capability to the user, ensuring each milestone moves the programme closer to deployment

Skills

Operational air-power experience

Programme management experience

Requirements translation

UK defence processes

Stakeholder communication

UK security clearance eligible

Job description

Helsing seeks a Programme Manager, Air, to own delivery plans for UK air programmes, coordinating with industry partners and defence customers to translate air-power needs into engineering priorities. You will align milestones, manage risks, and represent the programme to military and industry audiences.

You will bring practical experience in combat air planning, cross-partner coordination, and an understanding of UK defence processes. UK security clearance eligibility and UK base are required.