Senior Legal Counsel

Wayve; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI technology firm in the UK is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel knowledgeable in automotive technology and US law. This role involves drafting contracts, advising on regulatory compliance, and managing diverse legal matters within the company. Ideal candidates will have a strong legal background and excellent communication skills.

Qualifications

• Experience as a qualified lawyer in a US jurisdiction (California, Michigan preferred).
• Strong drafting, legal research, and negotiation skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Drafting and negotiating commercial contracts for AI technology.
• Advising on data protection and regulatory compliance.
• Managing external counsel and legal education within the business.

Skills

Legal research

Negotiation skills

Excellent communication

Commercial acumen

Technical drafting

Education

Qualified lawyer in a US jurisdiction

Job description

At Wayve we're committed to creating a diverse, fair and respectful culture that is inclusive of everyone based on their unique skills and perspectives, and regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law.

About us

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems.

Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving.

In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us—we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future.

At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact.

Make Wayve the experience that defines your career!

The role

Wayve is looking for an experienced Senior Legal Counsel who is US-qualified (or dual UK- and US-qualified) and proficient in technology issues in the automotive space, specifically around commercial contracting, AI and AV regulatory compliance, IP and data rights. You will be expected to run your own diverse set of matters with minimal supervision, and we are looking for a conscientious self-starter who is used to managing competing objectives under pressure. Previous in-house experience is highly beneficial.

Key responsibilities:

This broad role will be supporting the Head of Legal (based in the UK) with a wide range of legal matters, including:

• Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts, including data and technology licenses, development, supplier, collaboration, and services agreements, with a particular focus on commercialising the company’s AI technology in the automotive sector
• Advising on data protection compliance and other regulatory matters, including AV and AI regulations in the US and globally
• Advising on global supply chain matters including compliance with automotive procurement requirements and standards, regulatory frameworks and ESG regimes
• Advising on US corporate and labour law matters
• Drafting and maintaining precedents and policies
• Managing external counsel
• Cross-functional collaboration and education of the business on legal and regulatory matters

About you

In order to set you up for success as a Senior Legal Counsel at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.

• Demonstrable experience as a qualified lawyer in a US jurisdiction (California, Michigan preferred)
• Strong technical, drafting, legal research, and negotiation skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to explain complex matters in clear, accessible language
• Strong commercial acumen and judgement to effectively evaluate legal risk in the context of the company’s wider strategy
• Ability to work autonomously, take initiative and be proactive in addressing new challenges
• Ability and keenness to supervise and empower more junior members of the team
• Well-developed prioritisation skills and ability to deal with multiple projects and internal clients
• Willingness to get stuck in and work hard to help develop the legal team and support the business as it scales
• Ability to collaborate with colleagues across teams and jurisdictions
• Direct experience in one or more of the following areas will be a massive plus:
• Procurement of AV, ADAS or other complex software products in the automotive space (whether on the customer or supplier side)
• Supporting the launch of safety-critical products and overseeing compliance with complex regulatory regimes
• US labour laws and corporate matters

This is a full-time role, ideally based in our office in Sunnyvale. At Wayve we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.

We understand that everyone has a unique set of skills and experiences and that not everyone will meet all of the requirements listed above. If you’re passionate about self-driving cars and think you have what it takes to make a positive impact on the world, we encourage you to apply.

DISCLAIMER: We will not ask about marriage or pregnancy, care responsibilities or disabilities in any of our job adverts or interviews. However, we do look to capture information about care responsibilities, and disabilities among other diversity information as part of an optional DEI Monitoring form to help us identify areas of improvement in our hiring process and ensure that the process is inclusive and non-discriminatory.

Wayve UK Demographic Questions

Wayve is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive culture for our employees. It is crucial for us to understand the demographics of our candidate pool to measure our recruitment practices.

There is no requirement for any candidate to answer our demographic questions.

For candidates who complete the questionnaire, their data will be anonymised and used only in the aggregate to inform our attraction strategy. Wayve is an equal opportunity employer and this data will be used for opportunity monitoring purposes.

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