Counsel, Privacy and AI Regulation (EU)

European Union (Remote-friendly; Offices in London, Paris, Berlin, etc.) Qualified lawyer in at least one EU member state (German admission preferred); 4+ years legal experience (law firm + in-house at enterprise software company preferred); Deep expertise in EU AI Act, GDPR, DSA, and digital platform regulation; Proven track record managing regulatory risk and building compliance programs; Strong understanding of AI/ML technologies, product lifecycles, and data governance; Ability to translate complex legal concepts into actionable guidance for engineering and product teams.

The successful candidate will convert complex legal requirements and industry standards into actionable technical and operational requirements. This implies a daily workflow where you sit with ML engineers and product managers to dissect model training data provenance, evaluate systemic risk under Article 55 of the AI Act, and draft technical documentation for conformity assessments before a model hits the API endpoint. You are expected to liaise with EU digital regulatory authorities and participate in consultations. This is public policy work embedded inside a product company.

The eligibility criteria are surgically specific. Admission in an EU member state is non-negotiable; German admission is preferred likely because Berlin is a key office hub and Germany’s regulatory interpretation often sets the tone for EU enforcement. The 4+ year PQE requirement with a blend of law firm rigor and in-house pragmatism suggests they need someone who can draft a watertight DPA (Data Processing Agreement) on Monday and debate tokenization strategies with researchers on Tuesday.

Hard Law Expertise: EU AI Act (Risk tiers, GPAI obligations, Conformity Assessment), GDPR (Art. 25 By Design, Art. 35 DPIA, Schrems II transfer mechanisms), DSA (VLOP obligations, systemic risk auditing).

Technical Fluency: Understanding of RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), fine-tuning vs. pre-training data liabilities, model inversion attacks, and differential privacy.

Operational Muscle: Building compliance programs from zero-to-one (workflows, risk registers, automated monitoring), not just maintaining existing ones.

Stakeholder Translation: The ability to tell a VP of Engineering "No, we cannot ship this feature without a FRIA" in a way that preserves the relationship and the timeline.

This role positions you at the absolute vanguard of the "AI Governance" specialization. The market is bifurcating: generalist tech lawyers are commoditized; specialists in AI conformity assessment are scarce. By joining Cohere now—during the AI Act’s implementation grace period (2024-2026)—you gain first-mover experience in operationalizing the Regulation.

The compensation package signals the value placed on this niche. Six weeks (30 working days) of paid vacation, 100% parental leave top-up, and a dedicated mental health budget are not standard "perks"; they are retention tools for high-leverage talent in a seller's market. The remote-first policy with global office access offers genuine lifestyle design—critical for senior lawyers escaping the billable hour grind.

Joining their legal team means you are not a cost center; you are R&D. You will negotiate the "AI Regulatory Terms" in Master Services Agreements that define liability for hallucinations, IP indemnification for training data, and SLAs for model drift. This is commercial contracting at the bleeding edge of jurisprudence.

This opportunity is not for the lawyer seeking a quiet in-house landing spot. It is for the ambitious counselor who wants to write the playbook for AI governance in the Western world. The learning curve is vertical, the visibility is global, and the exit options—whether to Big Tech policy, VC-backed AI startups, or regulatory bodies—are limitless.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Q1: Is German bar admission strictly mandatory for this role? A: The job description states qualification in at least one EU member state is required, with German admission "preferred." Candidates admitted in France, Ireland, or the Netherlands with strong EU AI Act expertise should still apply.
• Q2: What does "Mid-Senior level" imply for years of PQE and compensation at Cohere? A: Mid-Senior typically maps to 5-10 years PQE. Expect a package heavily weighted toward RSUs/equity plus a competitive base salary.
• Q3: How does the "AI-enabled screening" mentioned in the disclaimer affect my application? A: Cohere uses AI tools to rank candidates against the criteria. To pass this filter, your LinkedIn profile and resume must contain these exact keywords.
• Q4: Can this role be performed fully remotely from a non-EU country? A: Unlikely. The requirement for EU bar admission and the mandate to liaise with EU digital regulatory authorities strongly implies a physical presence within the EU jurisdiction.