Principal Talent Acquisition Partner

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

We are looking for a Principal Talent Acquisition Partner, to lead hiring plan execution across our commercial, hardware and manufacturing business units. This role owns the design and delivery of hiring plans and scaling the TA operating model during a period of rapid expansion, partnering closely with the Talent Acquisition leadership team. You will partner with executives to translate business priorities into hiring outcomes, set the standard for business acumen and data fluency, and mentor the wider team.

The day-to-day

• Own the end-to-end recruiting delivery for a defined portfolio of roles. Act as the primary talent partner to executives, align on progress, future talent needs in the context of organisational growth

• Design and implement programmatic initiatives that solve systemic challenges and lift hiring velocity and efficiency such as talent market intelligence, sourcing channels and representation

• Provide insights to inform leadership decisions on hiring, representation and retention. Interpret recruiting data and translate insights into actionable recommendations on pipeline health, funnel conversion and capacity planning

• Optimise the TA tech stack by improving tool adoption, improving outcomes and demonstrating a hands-on approach to responsible AI in talent acquisition

You should apply if you

• Have end-to-end experience as a Principal Recruiter or Senior Recruiter in high-growth tech environments with a high talent bar, running full-cycle recruitment in one or more of the following: hardware engineering, production engineering, production operations, manufacturing.

• Have sourced and engaged talent on the German market, highly comfortable with German market specific sourcing channels, building pipelines and talent pools rather than relying on inbound applicants

• Are proficient in leveraging modern TA tech stacks and AI-powered solutions to drive ROI, optimize search efficiency, and ensure rigorous assessment standards.

• Demonstrated track record of implementing process improvements and automation, incl AI/ML tooling that measurably improved operational outcomes

• Have successfully implemented programmatic improvements that broadly impact the wider people and Talent Acquisition function, focusing on talent quality and long-term value creation.

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.

Application deadline is 31st August

We will review all applications by 31st August and speak to the shortlisted candidates based on the applications received here.

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 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 and 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 specific sites.

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 .