In-House Lawyer (IP, IT & Maritime Defence Technology) in Portsmouth

Subsea Craft (SSC) is a fast‑growing UK‑based SME delivering advanced maritime technology for the global defence market. Our flagship product, VICTA, is a cutting‑edge surface‑submersible craft designed for rapid, discreet operations. Building on this innovation, we have developed complementary products such as MARS, a modular Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV), and CADDIS, a sub‑surface launched Uncrewed Air Vehicle (UAV). With modularity and open architecture at the core, SSC is shaping the future of naval engineering.

What we offer:

• Annual Leave – Entitlement to 25 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
• Wellbeing Day – An additional Wellbeing Day each year to focus on personal health and wellbeing.
• Private Healthcare – Access to comprehensive private healthcare coverage to support your physical and mental wellbeing.
• Life Assurance and Critical Illness Cover – Comprehensive protection including Life Assurance (4x salary) and Critical Illness Cover for added financial security.
• Family Leave – Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
• Christmas Leave – A Christmas shutdown is typically observed.
• Professional Development – Commitment to ongoing learning and career growth, supported by training programmes and access to LinkedIn Learning.
• Pension Contribution – pension scheme with the option to contribute via salary sacrifice
• Flexible Working – Opportunities for flexible working arrangements to promote work‑life balance.
• Inclusive Culture – A professional environment that values diversity, innovation, and collaboration.

Role Overview:

You will provide proactive, business‑focused legal support across the company’s operations, with a particular focus on IT contracts, intellectual property, and technology‑related commercial work. You will work closely with our engineering, IT, commercial, and R&D teams to help deliver cutting‑edge projects safely, ethically, and in compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks.

Responsibilities:

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating a range of commercial agreements, including software licensing, SaaS, cloud hosting, professional services, and supplier and customer contracts.
• Supporting IP protection, licensing, and enforcement, ensuring our proprietary technology and data products are properly safeguarded.
• Assisting with data processing agreements, privacy policies, and compliance with UK GDPR and related frameworks, particularly in the context of digital, maritime and defence data.
• Helping the business navigate emerging maritime technology regulations, export controls, and defence sector compliance where relevant.
• Collaborating with Product Development, Software, R&D, and commercial teams to provide pragmatic legal guidance that enables innovation while managing risk.
• Supporting company secretarial and governance activities where required, including policy reviews and compliance documentation.
• Staying up to date with legal and regulatory developments in technology, IP, IT and data law, sharing insights and best practices with internal stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience:

Essential:

• Qualified solicitor in England & Wales (3‑5 years PQE) or equivalent jurisdiction.
• Solid understanding of commercial, IT and intellectual property law.
• Experience of drafting and negotiating technology contracts.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Commercial mindset with the ability to balance legal risk against business objectives.
• Collaborative, adaptable and curious – with a genuine interest in technology and innovation.

Desirable:

• Prior in‑house experience or secondment in a technology, engineering, maritime or defence organisation.
• Understanding of software development, autonomous or AI‑related legal issues
• Familiarity with data protection, cyber security or defence/maritime frameworks.
• Knowledge of government contracting (especially MOD or defence supply chain).

Note: Due to the nature of work undertaken at SubSea Craft, the selected candidate must be capable of meeting the security requirements of the position, which would include as a minimum existing right to live and work in the UK, Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), with UK National security clearance required for certain roles.

Values: Our people are our greatest asset, we continually strive to provide an excellent working environment to enable our team do their best work. We have an agile professional workforce: we are founded on the belief that our people are valued and our business is trusted, inclusive and commercially‑adept.

What we expect from you:

• Teamwork, mutual respect and collaboration
• Initiative and independent working
• Honesty and integrity
• Business and commercial awareness
• Agility, adaptability and continuous development

We are committed to building an inclusive, diverse workplace where everyone can thrive. If you require any support or adjustments to interact with us, please let us know.

We regret that due to the high volume of applications we are unable to acknowledge every application. Please bear in mind that if you are selected for an interview we will aim to contact you within 14 days of your application or the closing date (if stated). However, if we think that your skills and qualifications may be suitable for other similar positions we may hold your details on our database and contact you in the future. Please let us know if you do not wish us to keep your details on file.

*Please note that DBS, Driving Licence and reference checks will be carried out and all offers of employment are subject to meeting our requirements.