HRIS & Systems Lead

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 the HRIS & Systems Lead, you will guide the development, architecture, and implementation of HR solutions that prioritise employee experience and operational efficiency. You will oversee our core systems (such as HiBob and Jira), standardise global data, and support choices related to workforce analytics and process automation. This role translates our people strategy into robust technology systems, ensuring our HR architecture scales seamlessly alongside our teams. Working closely with People Operations, People Business Partners, and leadership, you will ensure our HR systems support both business growth and a frictionless employee experience. This position represents the core technology layer within the People team and will help shape how our HR systems function scales in the coming years.

The day-to-day

• Oversee Bob (HRIS) architecture and data governance to ensure data integrity across the employee lifecycle
• Adjust and—where possible—standardise global fields (contracts, compensation, leave, termination) across all systems and regions addressing different user groups
• Facilitate and implement rapid data-informed decision making
• Design lifecycle workflows (onboarding, offboarding, compensation changes) to ensure seamless employee transitions
• Integrate Bob and Jira processes to optimise cross-functional operations between HR and IT
• Manage and structure the People Operations service desk on Jira to streamline support ticket routing and resolution
• Build dashboards and analytics to track workforce data, identify trends, and support leadership choices
• Accelerate automation to reduce manual administrative burdens and empower self-service capabilities
• Partner with stakeholders to define and refine project scopes for future HR tech integrations and enhancements

You should apply if you

• Possess extensive experience in HRIS management, HR technology, and People Operations systems
• Have successfully supported complex system implementations, architecture design, and HR tech transformations
• Exhibit excellent analytical and planning skills, with the ability to translate business growth into customised system workflows
• Demonstrate deep expertise in knowledge management and process documentation, ideally using tooling such as Confluence
• Possess excellent stakeholder collaboration and communication skills

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

• Possess a background in advanced workforce analytics or process automation tools
• Bring experience from scaling operations in high-growth or technology companies
• Communicate fluently in the German language

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 stock options (ESOP)
• 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 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.