Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance, Product and Privacy

About the Position

Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is widely used in breakthrough initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. We are expanding our in-house legal team and are looking for an exceptional lawyer as Legal Advisor or Legal Counsel. The successful candidate will have experience in compliance, privacy, and product development, paired with an ability to learn and tackle new challenges and complex questions. You should be able to demonstrate good commercial judgement and provide high-quality legal and compliance advice.

Location: This role is home-based in EMEA or the Americas, with an option of working from our London office.

Responsibilities

• Drafting and reviewing corporate policies, spearheading process change, and deploying controls to meet compliance regulatory requirements globally
• Helping develop, maintain, and scale global privacy programs. This includes conducting PIAs, ROPAs, and supporting operational initiatives
• Working with cross-functional teams to evaluate the impact of privacy and data protection laws and regulations, including AI regulations
• Providing legal support to various internal clients across the company, including Canonical’s product teams
• Working with local counsel in many countries to seek and implement advice

Requirements

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
• A degree in law, JD or equivalent, and active license to practise law or current progress towards that
• Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent drafting and presentation skills
• Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation
• Appreciative of diversity; polite and effective in a multicultural multinational organisation
• Ability to stay organised, proactive, and efficient
• Ability to demonstrate good commercial judgement
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long

Nice to Have

• Experience in compliance, data privacy, or product development
• Leadership and the ability to influence others to embrace new ideas or practices
• Understanding of the open source software community and values
• Understanding of the technology industry - silicon, data centers, PCs, connected devices, and software
• Experience working on in-house legal team and/or law firm

We Offer

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
• Annual compensation review
• Recognition rewards
• Annual holiday leave
• Maternity and paternity leave
• Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
• Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events

About the Company

Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open-source projects and the platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence; in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.