General Counsel - Canonical

We are hiring a General Counsel, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO). This role leads Canonical’s global Legal and Compliance function.

This is a unique opportunity for an exceptional and commercially-minded senior lawyer to lead the legal and compliance function of a profitable, fast-growing technology company that is privately held with the intention to list on a public exchange. We’re looking for someone with genuine fluency in the software industry and in open source dynamics, who can translate that insight into clear positions on licensing, commercial contracts and risk, and hands-on execution.

The Role Entails

• Leading the global Legal and Compliance function: setting its structure, standards, and priorities across EMEA and the Americas.
• Building and managing a management capability: hire and develop managers, set objectives, review performance, and address under-performance directly.
• Setting the operating cadence of the function: intake and prioritization of legal work, service expectations with internal clients, and reporting on workload and risk to the leadership team.
• Owning public-market readiness on the legal side: corporate governance, group and entity structure, delegated authority, policies, disclosure controls, and records, in partnership with Finance.
• Advising the CEO, COO, CFO, and the Board, and supporting in Board and committee meetings.
• Owning the commercial contracting framework: standard templates, negotiating positions, and a deviation and escalation process.
• Leading intellectual property and open source licensing strategy, including copyleft, trademark, and the terms on which Ubuntu and our products are distributed.
• Owning the global compliance programme: data protection and privacy, export controls and trade compliance, anti-bribery and corruption, competition, and AI regulation.
• Managing litigation, disputes, and regulatory engagement, together with the external counsel panel.
• Advising on M&A, partnerships, strategic alliances, and financing as the company grows.

What We Are Looking For In You

• An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university.
• A degree in law, or equivalent, and an active licence to practice in an EMEA or Americas jurisdiction.
• Substantial senior in-house experience in a global technology or software business.
• Proven experience leading a distributed legal team, including managing managers across regions and time zones.
• Experience building or restructuring an in-house legal function.
• Technology-related experience of negotiating commercial technology contracts and advising on open source licensing.
• Experience of, or demonstrable readiness for, public company governance: listing preparation, board and committee support, disclosure, and controls.
• Depth in at least two of: data protection and privacy, IP and trademark, export controls and trade, competition, or disputes.
• Professional written and spoken English with excellent drafting and presentation skills.
• International travel two to four times a year for company events up to two weeks long.

What We Offer

• Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person.
• Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year.
• Bi-annual compensation review.
• Company recognition rewards.
• 40 days annual leave per annum, including public holidays and company holiday periods.
• Maternity and paternity leave.
• Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform.
• Travel opportunities to meet colleagues with Priority Pass for lounge access.