Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Operations Manager

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 nominated postholder for Germany, you will build lean operational processes that let Helsing iterate quickly without compromising the safety and legal standards required in a demanding regulatory environment. You will be the named individual accountable to the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA), Germany's federal aviation authority, for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) flight operations and safety in Germany. You will work in close partnership with the Accountable Manager to ensure every mission, trial and demonstration meets the requirements of EASA Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and 2019/945, as implemented in Germany under the LuftVG and LuftVO. The role sits at the intersection of field oversight and regulatory compliance. You will translate Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology and LBA requirements into practical, auditable processes that serve every programme. You will be based in Germany, with frequent travel to trial and demonstration sites.

The day-to-day

• Design and continuously improve flight safety processes that scale with operational tempo, keeping the German operations manual and supporting procedures lean and proportionate so that no trial or demonstration is delayed by unnecessary process
• Own and maintain the German operations manual and LBA authorisation, updating SORA assessments in line with current EASA methodology and LBA-specific supplements so that every planned UAS operation is covered by a valid authorisation
• Act as the primary point of contact with the LBA, in German, for authorisation matters, occurrence reporting under Regulation (EU) 376/2014 and audits, ensuring every submission and response meets regulatory deadlines
• Conduct site recces and pre-flight risk assessments, primarily for German trial and demonstration locations, with occasional travel to other Helsing operating locations as required
• Manage safety events locally, from capture and investigation through to corrective action and closure, and feed the findings into the group-wide safety management system
• Deliver internal training and maintain crew competency records to the standard required under the operations manual, so that every crew member is current before they fly
• Provide field oversight of flight operations, under authority delegated by the Accountable Manager
• Run the German compliance monitoring programme and report findings to the Accountable Manager on a fixed schedule

You should apply if you

• Have built or re-engineered operational processes in a fast-scaling environment, balancing compliance rigour with speed of delivery
• Have applied flight safety expertise in complex, regulated environments and delivered safety or compliance projects from initiation through to completion
• Have applied EASA Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and 2019/945, and the LuftVG and LuftVO that implement them, to flight operations
• Have worked directly with the LBA or an equivalent EASA national competent authority
• Have communicated clearly in German and English with national authorities and internal programme teams, building effective working relationships with diverse stakeholders

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

• Have worked within a defence, government or other highly regulated aviation environment
• Have worked with NATO frameworks
• Have conducted safety investigations or managed occurrence reporting
• Have introduced fast iteration into operational processes in a start-up environment

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: regular 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.