Senior Legal Counsel: Defence Tech Commercial Lead

Cambridge Aerospace; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Private medical

Cycle to work

Catering on site

Job summary

Cambridge Aerospace is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to own day-to-day legal delivery across the business, with a focus on commercial contracting. Reporting to the Head of Legal, you will line manage a paralegal and later lead a growing team of junior lawyers and compliance professionals.

You will negotiate and draft complex supplier and customer agreements, develop templates and playbooks, and drive efficient, compliant processes.

Qualifications

• 4+ years post-qualification experience in commercial contracting.
• Proven track record leading complex supplier/customer negotiations end-to-end.
• Defence sector knowledge including government contracting frameworks.
• Experience in fast-moving engineering/tech environments.
• International experience across multiple jurisdictions.
• Demonstrated leadership of junior lawyers or paralegals.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills with commercial empathy.

Responsibilities

• Lead and own all commercial supplier contracting across the business, including negotiation, drafting, review and execution.
• Act as the primary legal point of contact for all business unit leads on day-to-day legal matters.
• Manage and mentor junior lawyers, providing structured guidance, reviewing their work and supporting their professional development.
• Develop and maintain standard-form contract templates, playbooks and internal legal processes to improve speed and consistency of legal delivery.
• Support the Head of Legal on all legal matters as directed.
• Manage the legal function's workflow and triage incoming legal requests across the business units.
• Play a key role in growing the legal function, including contributing to hiring decisions, shaping the function's structure and capabilities, and helping to build the processes and culture that will support Cambridge Aerospace's next phase of growth.

Skills

Commercial contracting

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Team leadership

Defence sector

Technology law

Cross-border / international

Stakeholder management

Job description

Cambridge Aerospace is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel to own day-to-day legal delivery across the business, with a focus on commercial contracting. Reporting to the Head of Legal, you will line manage a paralegal and later lead a growing team of junior lawyers and compliance professionals.

You will negotiate and draft complex supplier and customer agreements, develop templates and playbooks, and drive efficient, compliant processes.