Head of Accounting

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 Head of Accounting, you will lead Helsing's international accounting function at a pivotal moment in the company's growth. Reporting directly to the Group Financial Director, you will own the full scope of the accounting department — from the integrity of financial records and regulatory compliance, to the design of the processes and systems that underpin reliable reporting across multiple entities and jurisdictions. This is a role with genuine organisational influence: you will shape how Helsing's finance infrastructure scales, partnering with internal teams and external stakeholders to ensure that our financial operations are as robust and mission-ready as the technology we build. You will also lead and develop a geographically distributed team, creating the conditions for them to do their best work.

The day-to-day

• Lead, develop, and support an international accounting team, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment across multiple locations

• Own the timely and accurate preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, ensuring consistency and reliability of reporting across the group

• Manage statutory filings under HGB and consolidated accounts under IFRS — including complex areas such as IFRS 15 — in close collaboration with internal and external partners across relevant legal jurisdictions

• Oversee general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and asset accounting, maintaining the accuracy and integrity of all financial records

• Architect and continuously improve internal finance workflows, leveraging automation and AI-powered tooling to increase speed, accuracy, and scalability

• Ensure full compliance with applicable legal, tax, and regulatory obligations, including VAT returns and statistical reporting

• Serve as the primary point of contact for auditors, tax advisers, banks, and tax authorities, managing these relationships with clarity and rigour

• Support liquidity planning and monitor payment transactions as part of broader cash management responsibilities

• Drive the development and optimisation of SAP and other finance-relevant platforms to support a scaling, multi-entity business

You should apply if you

• Have extensive experience in accounting leadership, with a track record of managing and developing international teams through periods of significant organisational change

• Have delivered multi-entity IFRS consolidations and hold in-depth knowledge of IFRS 15, alongside strong working knowledge of German GAAP (HGB)

• Have operated within a Big 4 environment, bringing the rigour and breadth of technical accounting expertise that context demands

• Have navigated the accounting complexities of a pre-IPO or recently listed company, and understand what it takes to build finance infrastructure that can scale at pace

• Are proficient in SAP and associated sub-tools, and are comfortable working across ERP environments to manage and improve finance operations

• Are business-fluent in German and fluent in English, enabling seamless collaboration with a distributed, international team and a broad stakeholder group

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

• Familiarity with the defence sector and associated export regulations

• ACA, CPA, or equivalent professional accounting qualification

• Experience implementing new ERP systems or embedding financial AI tooling into existing workflows

• Experience working with Business Intelligence platforms such as Tableau or Power BI for financial data analysis

• A track record of building or restructuring accounting teams and processes during periods of rapid growth

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.