# General Counsel
**Company:** [UpGuard](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/upguard)
**Location:** Remote
**Salary:** $300K-$425K
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** Legal Strategy, Compliance Program Development, Data Privacy (Gdpr, Ccpa), Ofac/Trade Compliance, Anti-Bribery, Ai Governance, Corporate Governance, Employment Law, Saas Contracting, Intellectual Property Strategy, M&A, Board Governance, Ai Tools & Workflow Automation
**Posted:** 2026-06-26
> Lead in-house legal function as General Counsel, advising executive leadership on strategy, compliance, governance, and product matters while managing a small legal team at a scaling B2B SaaS cybersecurity company.
## Job Description
## Legal Strategy & Operations
- Act as a strategic legal advisor to executive leadership, proactively identifying risks and opportunities to support informed, high-impact decisions.
- Assess current legal and compliance posture across key areas; identify gaps against applicable standards; and develop a sequenced, prioritised roadmap that reflects business risk, organisational capacity, and realistic timelines — then lead the company through the change required to close those gaps.
- Lead and develop the in-house legal team, implementing scalable processes and metrics-driven practices to accelerate deals and reduce risk.

## Compliance, Privacy & Risk
- Build and execute a scalable compliance program covering data privacy (GDPR, CCPA), OFAC/trade compliance, anti-bribery, AI governance, and ethics — with particular emphasis on driving organisational alignment and adoption beyond policy creation.
- Identify and mitigate legal and regulatory risks across the business, working cross-functionally to embed compliance awareness into day-to-day decision-making.

## Corporate & Governance
- Manage corporate legal activities, including governance, equity administration, and any M&A or financing activity as it arises.
- Advise People and Finance teams on employment law matters across global workforce, including hiring, employee relations, equity programs, and local labor law compliance.
- Support board governance functions, including preparation of board materials, maintenance of corporate records, and management of director obligations across jurisdictions.

## Product & Intellectual Property
- Provide strategic product counselling to product, engineering, and go-to-market teams, addressing legal issues and enabling compliant, successful product launches.
- Direct intellectual property strategy, proactively protecting and managing trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.
- Advise on the legal and regulatory implications of AI-driven features, data handling practices, and cybersecurity product capabilities as the platform evolves.

## Requirements
- 10+ years of legal experience (with 4+ years in a leadership role), with a strong in-house background at an international, B2B SaaS company.
- Law degree and admission to, and in good standing with, the local governing body.
- Proven experience building a compliance program at a scaling company — including assessing current posture, defining improvement targets, sequencing priorities, and executing change.
- Demonstrated ability to drive compliance and legal improvements across functions with competing priorities: communicating risk in business terms, building cross-functional buy-in, and moving organisations through change with practical, actionable guidance aligned with business and technology objectives.
- Deep understanding with sell-side SaaS contracting and experience navigating complicated deals across various deal sizes and buyer types.
- Strong interpersonal and cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience providing responsive, business-oriented legal support across global teams, time zones, cultures, and distributed (hybrid/remote) environments.
- Experience implementing AI tools and workflow automation to enhance legal operations, drive efficiency, and scale support for business needs.

## Nice-to-Haves
- Prior experience as General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel at a B2B SaaS company at a comparable growth stage (post-Series B or C, approximately 200–600 employees).
- A track record of building compliance programs from the ground up at a company navigating rapid scale.
- Background in cybersecurity, data privacy, or another regulated technology sector, with related certifications (CIPP/US, CIPP/E, etc.) a plus.
- Experience building real alignment with go-to-market, product, and marketing teams on legal and compliance priorities, and driving meaningful, lasting change through incremental steps that scale with the business.

## Compensation & Benefits
- Monthly Lifestyle subsidy: Use this for financial, physical, and mental well-being.
- WFH set-up allowance: To ensure you have the right environment to work in, we will help you get set up within your first 3 months.
- $1500 USD annual Learning & Development allowance.
- Annual leave: PTO plus two additional UpGuardian leave days.
- 18 weeks paid Parental Leave.
- Personal Leave Allowance: This includes sick & carer’s leave.
- Fully remote working environment.
- Top-spec hardware: All team members will be provided with top-spec laptops.
- Generative AI subsidy: Paid subscriptions for all team members to access generative AI tools.
- Health Insurance: Health, dental, and vision insurance.
- Stock Options.
**Apply:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/general-counsel-at-upguard-b99f84e1-b43c-41ca-90da-4b53ec96370c
**Canonical:** https://hotfix.jobs/jobs/general-counsel-at-upguard-b99f84e1-b43c-41ca-90da-4b53ec96370c