Legal Counsel, FR

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

Our legal department strives to be a high-performing unit which offers more than on demand concierge services. Above all we value strategic thinking, legal skills, professionalism, social intelligence, and agility. We are looking for a Paris based Legal Counsel to support Helsing SAS on all legal related topics. In this role you will report to the group General Counsel and work closely with the Président and Directeur général of Helsing FR. This is a key position in a rapidly scaling organisation.

The day-to-day

Advise Helsing's SAS leadership team in the defence, software, and artificial intelligence domains, and have a voice in numerous strategic and tactical decisions.

Understand Helsing’s relationship with its partners and customer, in particular the French government, and provide legal advice in support of our business goals.

Advise on product development issues, managing export controls and other compliance regulations, intellectual property rights, data privacy and conflicts of interest under French law.

Provide corporate, compliance and regulatory support to our business in France. This will include providing advice on defence procurement regulations (e.g., CAC Armement) and single source contract regulations.

Support Helsing SAS management team by owning all legal related activities related to the company’s operations in France (supplier contracts, labour law etc) and coordinate the interactions with external legal firms and legal departments.

Provide transactional support to the Helsing group, specifically in relation to our business in France. This will include reviewing, negotiating, and revising contractual agreements and software licensing with both defence industrial companies and government customers.

You should apply if you

Are a qualified attorney in France with 5+ years of firm, in-house, and/or government post-qualification experience.

Have a LLB and/or LLM degree.

Understand France public procurement regulations and single source contracting regulations.

Have a professional background in technology (software and/or hardware) and/or in the defence sector.

Are an excellent communication, able to draft in French and English and engage at all levels within an organisation.

Have personal values that match ours: ownership, initiative, dedication to mission, speed, and inclusiveness.

Are a high performer who thrives in a fast-paced environment.

Are collaborative, humble and a problem-solver.

You are ready to meet all necessary measures and requirements that are required to receive the relevant security clearance according to the respective national laws.

Note: The above bullet points describe the ideal candidate. None of us matched all of these at once when we first joined Helsing. We encourage you to apply even if you believe you meet only part of our wish list.

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

A focus on outcomes, not time-tracking

Competitive compensation and stock options

Relocation support

Social and education allowances

Regular company events and all-hands to bring together employees as one team across Europe

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.