Legal & Contract Manager MEA

Harmattan AI; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 331,000 - 551,000; Full time

Job summary

Harmattan AI in Abu Dhabi is seeking a commercially focused Legal Counsel to partner with Sales and business teams across the company, with emphasis on Arabic-speaking markets. You will draft, review and negotiate complex commercial contracts, advise on export controls, sanctions, AI and data privacy, and help build scalable legal processes.

This role blends in-house counsel duties with governance and cross-functional collaboration at a fast-moving defence tech company, reporting to the General

Qualifications

• Qualified attorney or in-house counsel with ~5 years' relevant experience.
• Native-level Arabic and fluent professional English.
• Strong track record drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts.
• Interest in defence, dual-use tech, AI or other regulated sectors.
• Comfortable with senior stakeholders and high-stakes work.
• Security clearance eligibility or exposure to export-control matters is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review and negotiate customer, partnership, supply and procurement agreements.
• Advise on regulatory issues around autonomous defence systems and export controls.
• Support governance, board documents and statutory filings across Arabic-speaking markets.
• Coordinate external counsel and manage legal spend.

Skills

Arabic-speaking

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder management

Education

LL.M.

Job description

About Us

Harmattan AI is a next-generation defense prime building autonomous and scalable defense systems. Following the close of a $200M Series B, valuing the company at $1.4 billion, we are expanding our teams and capabilities to deliver mission-critical systems to allied forces.

Our work is guided by clear values: building technologies with real-world impact, pursuing excellence in everything we do, setting ambitious goals, and taking on the hardest technical challenges. We operate in a demanding environment where rigor, ownership, and execution are expected.

About the Role

We're looking for a commercially minded Legal Counsel to join our legal team in Abu Dhabi. Reporting to the General Counsel, you'll be a hands-on legal business partner to Sales and teams across the company, with a particular focus on Arabic-speaking markets. This is a broad in-house role for a lawyer who enjoys working close to the business and is motivated by Harmattan AI's mission.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial & Procurement

• Draft, review and negotiate customer, partnership, supply and procurement agreements, including defence-procurement documentation among others

• Support complex negotiations with defence ministries, armed forces, public-sector bodies and industrial partners

• Build scalable contracting standards, playbooks and approval processes

Defence, AI & Regulated Technology

• Advise on legal and regulatory issues around autonomous and AI-enabled defence systems

• Work with the General Counsel on export-control, sanctions and trade-compliance matters

• Advise on AI, data, cybersecurity and IP issues as they affect the business

Corporate & Governance

• Support entity governance, board documentation and statutory filings across Arabic-speaking markets

• Support employment matters alongside the People team and external counsel

• Manage disputes and pre-litigation matters with a focus on early risk assessment

Arabic-Speaking Markets

• Act as principal legal advisor for expansion across Arabic-speaking markets

• Coordinate external local counsel and manage legal spend

• Help build the legal processes and templates that let the business scale

Requirements

• Qualified attorney or in-house legal counsel with ~5 years' relevant experience across a law firm and in-house/tech or defence environment

• Native-level Arabic and fluent professional English;

• Strong track record drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts

• Solid grounding in contract and corporate law

• Genuine interest in defence, dual-use tech, AI or other regulated sectors

• Comfortable with senior stakeholders and fast-moving, high-stakes work

• Eligible to obtain and maintain any security clearance or authorization required for the role, subject to applicable law.

• LL.M. from a US or UK institution, or exposure to defence/public-procurement/export-control matters, is a plus.

We look forward to hearing how you can help shape the future of autonomous defense systems at Harmattan AI.