Senior Legal Counsel (Regulatory) in London

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems. Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving. In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future. At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

Wayve is looking for an experienced Regulatory Counsel to help build and lead a new regulatory legal function within the company. This is a senior position that will play a critical role in shaping Wayve’s approach to regulatory strategy and engagement as we scale globally and bring embodied AI technology into real-world deployment. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-moving, highly regulated environments and enjoys working at the intersection of technology, regulation, and commercial innovation. While experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, or AI would be valuable, it is not essential. We are more interested in candidates with strong foundational regulatory skills, sound judgement, and a proven ability to navigate complex regulatory landscapes within consumer-facing or highly regulated industries. We are looking for a proactive, commercially minded self-starter who is comfortable operating independently, building new processes and frameworks from the ground up, and partnering closely with senior stakeholders across the business. This role will initially operate as an individual contributor but is expected to evolve quickly into a people management position, including cross-border management responsibilities as the team expands internationally.

Key responsibilities:

• Advising the business on regulatory strategy and compliance across multiple jurisdictions, with a focus on emerging and evolving technology regulation, including AV, AI and automotive.
• Monitoring, interpreting, and communicating developments in laws, regulations, and government policy relevant to Wayve’s products and operations.
• Supporting engagement with regulators, government bodies, industry groups, and external stakeholders.
• Advising on product, safety, consumer protection, and operational regulatory issues associated with deploying advanced technologies in real-world environments.
• Partnering closely with engineering, policy, communications, commercial, and operational teams to provide practical and commercially focused regulatory advice.
• Developing scalable processes, policies, and governance structures to support the company’s growth.
• Managing external counsel and coordinating cross-border regulatory advice where required.
• Supporting strategic initiatives, market expansion, and new product deployments from a regulatory perspective.
• Helping to build and shape Wayve’s broader regulatory legal capability, including mentoring and managing future team members as the function grows.
• Educating and enabling the business on regulatory risk and compliance matters.

About you

In order to set you up for success as a Regulatory Counsel at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.

Essential:

• Qualified lawyer with 6–7+ years of post-qualification legal experience. E&W qualified preferred but other relevant qualifications will be considered.
• Significant in-house legal experience within a highly regulated industry.
• Strong experience advising on regulatory matters in complex, consumer-facing or technology-driven sectors.
• Excellent legal analysis, drafting, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong commercial judgement and ability to assess legal and regulatory risk in the context of broader business objectives.
• Ability to work autonomously, take initiative, and operate effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment.
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with senior business stakeholders.
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously.
• Interest in helping to build and scale a new regulatory legal function within a high-growth technology company.
• Willingness and ability to manage and mentor team members as the function expands internationally.

Desirable:

• Regulatory experience within the automotive or mobility sector, particularly at an OEM or similarly complex engineering-led organisation.
• Experience working within industries undergoing rapid regulatory evolution, such as FinTech, social media, telecommunications, or other emerging technology sectors.
• Familiarity with autonomous vehicle, AI, or product safety regulatory frameworks.
• Experience engaging directly with regulators, policymakers, or industry bodies.
• Cross-border regulatory advisory experience across the UK, Europe, or the United States.
• Experience helping to establish or scale legal or regulatory functions within growing businesses.

This is a full-time role based in our office in London. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home. Wayve is committed to creating an inclusive interview experience. If you require any accommodations or adjustments to participate fully in our interview process, please let us know. We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self-driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply. At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.