Junior Solicitor

Rowden; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering company, headquartered in Bristol, is seeking a Junior Solicitor to support its General Counsel with various legal responsibilities, including managing contracts, compliance, and IP. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to national security operations while promoting a flexible and inclusive work environment. Candidates must have a law degree and relevant experience, along with the ability to obtain SC Clearance.

Qualifications

• Qualified solicitor in England and Wales with 1-3 years post-qualification experience.
• Experience as a junior solicitor in-house or private practice.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and document management systems.

Responsibilities

• Support General Counsel on legal matters including contracts and compliance.
• Manage Rowden’s IP and collaborate with internal stakeholders.
• Implement legal risk management and conduct compliance audits.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Commercial contracts

Supplier agreements

IP management

Data protection

Export control

Corporate governance

Legal risk management

Microsoft Office

Document management systems

Education

Law degree or equivalent legal qualification

Job description

Department: Exec

Location: Bristol, UK

Compensation: £60,000 - £70,000 / year

Description

We’re building the next UK-headquartered engineering powerhouse.

At Rowden, we design and integrate advanced systems that sense, connect, and protect data in challenging environments where quick decisions are vital. Our solutions use intelligent automation to enhance speed and efficiency and are built to be reliable and straightforward for critical operations in remote or high-pressure settings.

Headquartered in Bristol (UK), we combine modern engineering methods with cutting-edge commercial technology to create adaptable, mission-critical systems. We focus on solving the tough challenges that others overlook, ensuring our customers can operate effectively in an ever-changing world.

We’re looking for a detail-oriented and proactive Junior Solicitor to join our team, supporting our General Counsel in a broad range of legal tasks. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone looking to build an in-house legal career within a growing engineering company, where your work will contribute to enabling faster, more secure decision-making for defence and national security operations. While this role offers hybrid working options, it requires a minimum of 3 days per week on-site at our Bristol HQ.

Candidates must be eligible for SC Clearance for this role. More information about security clearance is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels

Key areas of responsibility

As a Junior Solicitor at Rowden, you will be responsible for:

• Supporting the General Counsel on a broad range of legal matters, including:
• Commercial contracts and supplier agreements;
• Regulatory compliance (including data protection and export control);
• Corporate governance and company secretarial duties;
• Managing and protecting Rowden’s IP;
• Liaising with external advisors as required (e.g. on property and employment law related matters).
• Collaborating with internal stakeholders across the business including the engineering, commercial, product, and operations teams.
• Helping to implement best practices in legal risk management and compliance.
• Managing the supplier onboard process and ongoing supplier review.
• Supporting internal training and audit on relevant legal and compliance topics.
  
  
  

Key skills, experience and behaviours

Essential:

• Law degree or equivalent legal qualification (e.g. LPC, SQE, or paralegal certification).
• Qualified solicitor in England and Wales with 1-3 years post-qualification experience.
• Experience working as a qualified junior solicitor (in-house or private practice).
• Proficient with Microsoft Office and document management systems.

Desirable:

• Understanding of public sector contracting frameworks or government procurement processes.
• Previous experience working in a defence, aerospace, and/or security-related organisation.
• Familiarity with data protection, cybersecurity, or export control regulations.
  
  

Working at Rowden

We are committed to building a flexible, inclusive, and enabling company. Our aim is to create a diverse team of talented people with unique skills, experience, and backgrounds, so please apply and come as you are!

We also recognise the importance of flexible working and support this wherever we can. We typically operate a flexible, hybrid-working model, with an average 3 days in the office each week (dependent on the role). We welcome the opportunity to discuss flexibility, part-time working requirements and/or workplace adjustments with all our applicants.

Rowden is a Disability Confident Committed company, and we actively encourage people with disabilities and health conditions to apply for our roles. Please let us know your requirements early on so that we can make sure you have everything you need up front to help make the recruitment process and experience as easy as possible.

Finally, if you feel that you don’t meet all the criteria included above but have transferable skills and relevant experience, we’d still love to hear from you!