Chief Legal Officer (CLO)
Company: Sync Neural Genesis AG
Location: London, United Kingdom (hybrid flexibility considered)
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer & Board of Directors
Type: Full-time, Executive Leadership
About Sync Neural Genesis AG
Sync Neural Genesis AG ("Sync") is building the infrastructure of the new energy economy — uniting generation, transmission, settlement, and finance into one integrated platform designed to accelerate the global transition to clean energy. Operating from Lucerne, Switzerland, Sync coordinates a family of connected ventures spanning gigawatt-scale energy project development, wireless power transmission (AEIR), blockchain-based energy settlement and verification (Netzium), and institutional capital vehicles for clean-energy deployment.
We are at a pivotal stage of our journey: transitioning from stealth-mode development toward institutional-scale growth. We are seeking a CLO who has walked this exact path before — and can lead us through it again.
The Role
The CLO will serve as the senior legal architect of the group, owning all legal, regulatory, and governance matters across a multi-entity, multi-jurisdiction structure. This is not a caretaker or pure compliance role. The CLO will build the legal function from the ground up and act as the commercial and transactional legal engine of the business — structuring and negotiating the agreements that underpin our energy projects, capital raises, and eventual entry into the public markets. You will be a core member of the executive team, a trusted counterpart to the Board and investors, and a guardian of the company's legal credibility.
We are specifically seeking a candidate whose formative experience comes from inside an early-stage, venture-backed renewable energy business — someone who has operated as legal lead through stealth mode and Series A, and understands what it means to build legal infrastructure with speed, pragmatism, and limited resources.
Key Responsibilities
Commercial & Energy Transactions
- Lead the structuring, drafting, and negotiation of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) — corporate, utility-scale, virtual/synthetic, and cross-border — including offtake strategy, credit support, curtailment, and change-in-law provisions.
- Own the full suite of project agreements: EPC contracts, O&M agreements, interconnection and grid access agreements, land and site control documentation, and equipment supply contracts.
- Manage the legal dimensions of project development pipelines from origination through financial close and commercial operation.
- Negotiate strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and technology licensing arrangements across the group's ventures.
Capital Raising & Corporate Finance
- Act as lead legal counsel on all funding rounds — Seed through Series A/B/C and later-stage growth rounds — including term sheet negotiation, due diligence management, data room oversight, subscription and shareholder agreements, and closing mechanics.
- Structure and paper complex capital instruments (equity, convertibles, SAFEs, project finance facilities, and structured instruments) across the group's holding and operating entities.
- Support project finance and corporate finance facilities, including lender negotiations, security packages, and intercreditor arrangements.
- Partner with the CFO and CIO on capital strategy, ensuring legal structuring supports fundraising velocity and investor confidence.
IPO Readiness & Public Markets
- Lead legal preparation for an eventual IPO: corporate restructuring and simplification, governance uplift, disclosure readiness, listing venue analysis, and management of underwriters' counsel and external advisers.
- Build board and committee governance frameworks, delegated authorities, and policies to public-company standard well ahead of listing.
- Advise the Board on directors' duties, securities law obligations, and pre-IPO risk management.
Governance, Regulatory & Compliance
- Design and implement the group's governance architecture across multiple jurisdictions and entities.
- Oversee regulatory strategy across energy markets, financial services touchpoints, and data/technology regulation relevant to the group's ventures.
- Establish pragmatic, scalable compliance frameworks (AML/KYC, sanctions, anti-bribery, ESG disclosure) appropriate to a fast-scaling business.
- Manage disputes, pre-litigation strategy, and external counsel relationships — keeping outside spend disciplined and instructions tightly scoped.
Leadership
- Build and lead a lean, high-calibre legal team as the group scales, supplemented by carefully selected external counsel.
- Act as a sounding board to the CEO and Board on critical decisions on strategy, transactions, and corporate actions.
- Work closely with the CFO, CIO, and business development teams to keep legal embedded in commercial decision-making rather than operating as a gatekeeper.
Essential
Required Experience
- Qualified lawyer with 10+ years post-qualification experience, with the majority of recent experience gained in-house.
- Deep experience in the renewable energy sector, gained inside an operating company rather than in an advisory capacity.
- Direct, hands‑on experience negotiating and managing PPAs and the broader suite of renewable energy project agreements.
- Proven track record as legal lead on venture funding rounds (term sheets through closing), ideally from Seed/Series A onward.
- Experience operating within an early-stage, stealth-mode or Series A company — comfortable building legal infrastructure from scratch with limited resources and high ambiguity.
- Strong grounding in corporate structuring, shareholder arrangements, and multi‑entity group governance.
- Commercial judgment: able to weigh legal risk against business momentum and give clear, decisive counsel.
Highly Desirable
- Direct IPO experience — readiness planning and/or execution of a listing, ideally having taken a company from private venture stage to the public markets.
- Experience with project finance and structured capital instruments.
- Multi‑jurisdictional experience across Europe (Swiss experience a plus), with exposure to cross-border energy or infrastructure transactions.
- Familiarity with emerging technology areas relevant to the group (energy settlement systems, digital assets, grid technology).
Compensation Structure
- Competitive Executive Salary
- Annual Performance Bonus linked to transaction execution, capital raising support, and development of the group's legal and governance infrastructure
- Equity participation in line with executive-level appointments
- Executive benefits package
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