Legal Counsel

fonio; Osterreich; On-site; PEN 251,000 - 386,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Daily lunch and dinner

Equipment of your choice

Regular team off-sites

On-site in Vienna

Job summary

fonio is seeking a hands-on Legal Counsel to build legal foundations from scratch. You will handle disputes, IP, data protection and international compliance for entities in the EU, UK and US, coordinating with external firms.

You will be the go-to for Sales, Engineering and Ops, delivering pragmatic, fast and clear guidance. The role is on-site in Vienna with relocation support and equity options.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with 4–8 years' experience in Austria or Germany.
• Top law firm training and at least 2 years in-house at a tech or SaaS company.
• Strong commercial contracting and GDPR experience.
• Fluent English, written and spoken.
• Comfortable working alone and giving clear yes/no answers.

Responsibilities

• Handle disputes and litigation: strategy and steering external counsel.
• File and defend trademarks, protect technology, manage open source/licensing.
• Provide international corporate law and compliance support for EU/UK/US entities.
• Coordinate external law firms and advisors across countries: selection, briefing, budget, quality.
• Manage data protection with external experts: GDPR, DPAs, customer requests, voice data handling.
• Be go-to person for Sales, Engineering and Ops on legal questions with fast, clear guidance.

Skills

English proficiency

Commercial contracting

GDPR experience

Education

Qualified lawyer (Austria/Germany)

4–8 years experience

Law firm + in-house background

Job description

About fonio

We grew from $1M to $10M ARR in under 12 months and now serve 10,000+ customers.

Fonio is Europe’s market leader for AI phone agents for SMBs. Now we’re expanding globally and into new products.

We move fast, take ownership, give direct feedback, and avoid politics and unnecessary meetings.

Join one of world´s fastest-growing companies.

The role

You will be the person everyone goes to with a legal question, and you will answer it quickly and practically. One day that is a customer contract, the next a data protection query, a new hire's contract.

You will build Fonio's legal foundations from scratch: templates, processes and the right external law firms. This is a hands-on role, not a manager of outside counsel.

What to Expect

• Disputes and litigation: assessment, strategy, steering external counsel

• Trademarks and IP: file and defend our marks, protect our technology, handle open source and licensing

• International: corporate law and compliance for our entities in the EU, UK and US, support for new country incorporations

• Coordinate external law firms and advisors in every country: selection, briefing, budget, quality

• Data protection together with external experts: GDPR, data processing agreements, customer requests, handling of voice data

• Go-to person for Sales, Engineering and Ops on any legal question – pragmatic, fast, understandable

What You Bring

Must-haves

• Qualified lawyer (Austria or Germany) with 4 to 8 years' experience.

• Mix of top law firm training and at least 2 years in-house at a tech or SaaS company.

• Strong commercial contracting and GDPR experience.

• Fluent English, written and spoken.

• Comfortable working alone, prioritising fast and giving clear yes or no answers.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience with AI, telecoms or voice products.

• Exposure to venture funding rounds, M&A or entity set-up abroad.

• Working knowledge of UK or US commercial law.

• Has been the first legal hire at a scale-up before.

What We Offer

• €65,000 to €100,000 + Equity

• Relocation support

• Daily lunch and dinner

• Equipment of your choice

• Regular team off-sites

• On-site in Vienna, working directly with the core-team

Hiring Process

1. 15 min intro call
2. 30 min skill interview
3. 20 min culture fit