Helsing
Mid (~660)
Runway
Mid (~420)
Best For
Helsing
Best for: AI/ML engineers motivated by national security and defense who want to apply frontier AI to high-stakes real-world problems in a mission-driven team
Runway
Best for: Creative technologists who want to pioneer AI video generation at the intersection of art and engineering
Ratings
HelsingRunway
4.0
4.5
Overall
3.6
4.0
Work-Life Balance
4.1
4.6
Culture & Values
4.0
4.3
Comp & Benefits
3.8
4.4
Senior Mgmt
3.8
4.2
Career Opps
👍 80% Recommend
👤 84% CEO Approval (Gundbert Scherf)
👍 90% Recommend
👤 90% CEO Approval (Cristóbal Valenzuela)
Culture Values
Helsing only
💎 Strong Comp & Equity
Runway only
🌐 Remote-Friendly
Shared
⚙️ Engineering-Driven🚀 Ship Fast & Iterate🎯 Direct Product Impact🌱 Learning & Growth
Pros & Cons
Helsing
- Highest talent density of any tech company — world-class AI and engineering leadership
- Extremely important mission with rewarding impact and competitive salary
- Ridiculous expectations of work hours — high salaries do not mean constant overtime
- Some management not experienced enough to lead; lacking in performance feedback
Runway
- Pioneer in AI video generation — Gen-3 Alpha is industry-leading
- Unique blend of art and engineering — creative culture values both
- Smaller team (~420) means limited specialization — engineers wear multiple hats
- AI video generation is an increasingly competitive space
Bottom Line
Helsing
Strong engineering culture with a clear mission — but that mission (AI for defense) is not for everyone. Research the ethics carefully before applying; those aligned will find unusually meaningful work.
Runway
Choose Runway if you want to build Gen-3 Alpha at the art-meets-AI frontier — but the space is getting competitive.
Open Roles
Helsing — 103 jobs
💻 Engineering
51
🧠 ML / AI
8
⚙️ Operations
4
📋 Product
4
💰 Finance
3
🎨 Design
2
📣 Marketing
2
👤 HR / People
1
💼 Sales / GTM
1
🎧 Support
1
Runway — 35 jobs
🧠 ML / AI
6
💻 Engineering
4
📊 Data
3
👤 HR / People
3
💼 Sales / GTM
3
💰 Finance
2
📣 Marketing
2
🎨 Design
1
⚖️ Legal
1
📋 Product
1
Summary
Helsing scores 4.0/5.0 on Glassdoor with a 3.6 work-life balance rating. Runway scores 4.5/5.0 overall with a 4.0 WLB. That’s a 0.5-point gap on overall satisfaction.
Both companies share these culture values: Engineering-Driven, Ship Fast & Iterate, Direct Product Impact, Learning & Growth. Helsing also emphasizes Strong Comp & Equity. Runway also emphasizes Remote-Friendly.
On the hiring front, Helsing has 103 open roles and Runway has 35 open roles.