Global General Counsel & Open Source Compliance Leader

Canonical; France; Remote; EUR 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Distributed work environment

Learning budget USD 2,000 per year

40 days annual leave

Maternity and paternity leave

Wellness platform

Travel opportunities with PriorityPass

Job summary

Canonical is seeking a General Counsel to lead its global Legal and Compliance function. The role is remote within EMEA time zones and reports to the COO, with responsibility for governance, licensing, IP and regulatory posture across regions.

You will work closely with product and engineering teams, advise the Board, and shape the legal function for a fast-growing, publicly-driven technology company.

Qualifications

• A law degree and active license to practice in an applicable jurisdiction.
• Substantial senior in-house experience in a global technology or software business.
• Proven experience leading a distributed legal team across regions and time zones.
• Track record of building or restructuring an in-house function with clear retention and delegation decisions.
• Experience negotiating commercial technology contracts including licensing, enterprise software and cloud services.
• Experience advising on open source licensing and governance, including copyleft considerations.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global Legal and Compliance function across EMEA and the Americas.
• Hire, develop and manage managers; set objectives and review performance.
• Own governance, policies, and controls in partnership with Finance and senior leadership.
• Advise the CEO, COO, CFO and Board; support in board and committee meetings.
• Own the commercial contracting framework, including standard templates and escalation processes.
• Oversee IP and open source licensing strategy and overall licensing posture.
• Manage global compliance program: data privacy, export controls, anti-bribery and competition.
• Oversee litigation, regulatory engagements, and external counsel.
• Provide guidance on M&A, partnerships and financing as the company grows.

Skills

Senior lawyer

Commercial mindset

Licensing

IP

Open source

Governance

Education

Law degree and license

Tools

Legal tech tools

Job description

Canonical is seeking a General Counsel to lead its global Legal and Compliance function. The role is remote within EMEA time zones and reports to the COO, with responsibility for governance, licensing, IP and regulatory posture across regions.

You will work closely with product and engineering teams, advise the Board, and shape the legal function for a fast-growing, publicly-driven technology company.