Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance, Product and Privacy

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 enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation, and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of globally-distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 80+ countries and very few roles based in offices. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution. The company is founder-led, profitable, and growing. We are expanding our in-house legal team, creating an opportunity for an exceptional lawyer as Legal Advisor or Legal Counsel.

The successful candidate will be a rigorous and effective practitioner with a track record of academic achievement and social engagement. At Canonical, they will have the opportunity to work on a variety of compliance and privacy matters in the technology and enterprise software realm, as well as cutting-edge questions of technology, law, and product development. In this appointment, we are looking for someone with experience in compliance, privacy, and product development, paired with an ability to learn and tackle new challenges and complex questions.

The successful candidate will work closely with Canonical and external legal counsel in Europe and the Americas, and colleagues worldwide. Candidates must be able to demonstrate good commercial judgement as well as being organised, efficient, and capable of providing high-quality legal and compliance advice. We are looking for a rigorous work ethic, detailed analysis, conscientiousness, and the ambition to identify opportunities for improvement.

Location: This role is home-based in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, or the Americas, with the option of our London office.

What your day will look like:

• Draft and review corporate policies, spearhead process change, and deploy controls to meet compliance regulatory requirements globally.
• Help develop, maintain, and scale global privacy programs, including conducting PIAs, ROPAs, and supporting operational initiatives.
• Work cross-functionally with teams to evaluate the impact of privacy and data protection laws and regulations, including AI regulations.
• Provide legal support to various internal clients across the company, including Canonical’s product teams.
• Interface with cross-functional teams to support company initiatives, including AI deployment and use.
• Work with local counsel in many countries to seek and implement advice.

What we are looking for in you:

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university.
• A degree in law, JD or equivalent, and active licence to practise law or current progress towards that.
• Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills with the ability to work in a fast-paced, multi-cultural environment.
• Effective both independently and as part of a team.
• A passion for technology evidenced by personal initiatives and projects.
• 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.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, curiosity, flexibility, and accountability.
• Thoughtfulness and self-motivation.
• Result-oriented, with a personal drive to meet commitments.
• Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long.

Additional Skills We Value:

• 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 centres, PCs, connected devices, and software.
• Experience working on an in-house legal team and/or law firm.

What we offer you:

• 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.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues.
• Priority Pass, and travel upgrades for long-haul company events.

About Canonical: 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 its 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.