Legal Counsel Contracts & Commercial

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 Legal Counsel Contracts & Commercial, you will serve as a trusted legal partner to Helsing's business teams, providing clear, pragmatic advice across a broad range of commercial matters. Working closely with sales, partnerships, and product teams, you will structure, negotiate, and close deals at the frontier of defence technology. Reporting to the Lead Counsel Germany, you will sit at the heart of Helsing's go-to-market engine, bringing legal clarity to complex, multi-jurisdictional transactions. You will also contribute to the development of a next-generation, AI-powered legal operating system, helping to shape how the legal function scales alongside Helsing's mission.

The day-to-day

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including sales and supplier contracts, software licensing agreements, SaaS agreements, framework contracts, NDAs, teaming agreements, and MoUs with government and defence customers

• Advise business stakeholders on contractual risk, liability exposure, IP ownership, data protection, regulatory questions (especially public procurement law) and export control implications, translating legal complexity into clear, actionable guidance

• Support deal structuring in complex, multi-jurisdictional and government procurement contexts, ensuring legal alignment across Finance, Export Control, and Product teams

• Build and maintain contract templates, playbooks, and standard terms that enable scalable, efficient contracting processes across the business

• Contribute actively to Helsing Legal's adoption of AI-powered tools, helping to construct a next-generation legal operating system that raises the standard for in-house legal practice

You should apply if you

• Hold a law degree (first or second state exam, or an equivalent qualification) and have built a strong track record in drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts

• Have gained substantial post-qualified experience in commercial law, optimally with a combination of law firm and in-house exposure

• Communicate with clarity, translating nuanced legal risk into practical business guidance for non-legal stakeholders across sales, product, and finance functions

• Bring sound commercial judgement and the ability to navigate complex, multi-jurisdictional matters with considered, well-reasoned decisions, working effectively without close supervision

• Are fluent in both German and English to a professional standard, written and spoken

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 experience in software or SaaS licensing, government contracting, or defence-adjacent industries, with working knowledge of export control frameworks (AWG/AWV, EAR/ITAR)

• Have worked with legal technology tools or AI-driven contract review platforms

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 : regularly 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.

Helsing's Candidate Privacy and Confidentiality Regime can be found here .