Head of Legal

Digantara; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 4,000,000 - 8,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Digantara seeks a strategic Head of Legal to lead global contracts, M&A, compliance, and government affairs across multiple geographies. You will oversee regulatory risk, fundraising documentation, and corporate governance while partnering with the CEO and leadership team.

Ideal candidate has extensive in-house GC experience, strong background in defence/aerospace/deep-tech, and a track record of cross-border transactions with multi-jurisdiction entities.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of legal experience with strong in-house GC leadership.
• Background in defence, aerospace, space or deep-tech preferred.
• Proven experience in 2–3+ cross-border M&A transactions.
• Strong experience in defence/government contracts and export controls (SCOMET, ITAR/EAR or Wassenaar).
• Demonstrated government/regulator engagement and policy advocacy experience.
• Experience building/scaling a legal function across multiple jurisdictions.
• LLB/LLM from a recognised institution.

Responsibilities

• Lead commercial, defence and government contracts across India, US, UK, Singapore and Australia, including technology, SaaS, data, procurement, JV and strategic partnership agreements.
• Drive M&A, investments and international expansion, including legal DD, SPA/SHA, regulatory approvals, entity structuring and post-merger integration.
• Own regulatory compliance and risk across export controls (SCOMET, ITAR/EAR, UK/EU dual-use), data privacy, IP, employment and corporate governance.
• Lead government affairs and policy advocacy, with direct engagement with MoD, DoS, IN-SPACe, DGFT and relevant US/UK/EU regulators and industry bodies.
• Advise on fundraising, ESOPs, debt/convertibles and strategic investments.
• Build and scale a high-performing in-house legal function, processes and governance framework.
• Act as a strategic legal partner to the CEO/COO and leadership team, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives.
• Special Note: Regular travel to Delhi for policy and government engagement, with periodic travel to the US and UK for market entry, regulatory matters and advocacy. Willingness to travel is an essential requirement of the role.

Skills

In-house GC experience

Cross-border M&A

International expansion

Government affairs

Export controls (SCOMET/ITAR-EAR/WASS)

Policy advocacy

Scaling a legal function

Education

LLB/LLM

Job description

Digantara is a leading Space Surveillance and Intelligence company focused on ensuring orbital safety and sustainability. With expertise in space-based detection, tracking, identification, and monitoring, Digantara provides comprehensive domain awareness across various regimes, allowing end-users to gain actionable intelligence on a single platform. At the core of its infrastructure lies a sophisticated integration of hardware and software capabilities aligned with the key principles of situational awareness: perception (data collection), comprehension (data processing), and prediction (analytics). This holistic approach empowers Digantara to monitor all Resident Space Objects (RSOs) in orbit, fostering comprehensive domain awareness.

About the Role:

This is a highly strategic Head of Legal role for a fast-growing space, defence, and deep-tech organization operating across multiple geographies. The person will serve as the company’s legal leader, responsible for managing global contracts, M&A, international expansion, government affairs, compliance, fundraising documentation, and corporate legal risk.

Ideal Candidate:

• 12+ years of legal experience, with strong in-house experience as GC, Deputy GC, Head of Legal or Senior Legal Counsel.

• Background in defence, aerospace, space, technology, hardware or deep-tech preferred.

• Proven experience in 2–3+ cross-border M&A transactions and multi-jurisdiction entity management.

• Strong experience in defence/government contracts and export controls such as SCOMET, ITAR/EAR or Wassenaar.

• Demonstrated direct government/regulator engagement and policy advocacy experience.

• Experience building/scaling a legal function and working across multiple jurisdictions.

• LLB/LLM from a recognised institution.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead commercial, defence and government contracts across India, US, UK, Singapore and Australia, including technology, SaaS, data, procurement, JV and strategic partnership agreements.

• Drive M&A, investments and international expansion, including legal DD, SPA/SHA, regulatory approvals, entity structuring and post-merger integration.

• Own regulatory compliance and risk across export controls (SCOMET, ITAR/EAR, UK/EU dual-use), data privacy, IP, employment and corporate governance.

• Lead government affairs and policy advocacy, with direct engagement with MoD, DoS, IN-SPACe, DGFT and relevant US/UK/EU regulators and industry bodies.

• Advise on fundraising, ESOPs, debt/convertibles and strategic investments.

• Build and scale a high-performing in-house legal function, processes and governance framework.

• Act as a strategic legal partner to the CEO/COO and leadership team, balancing legal risk with commercial objectives.

• Special Note: Regular travel to Delhi for policy and government engagement, with periodic travel to the US and UK for market entry, regulatory matters and advocacy. Willingness to travel is an essential requirement of the role.

Location: Hebbal, Bangalore

WFO 5 days from office.