Senior Legal Counsel

YouLend; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Care Coverage

401K match

Paid Time Off (PTO) of 20 working days

Job summary

YouLend is seeking a US-qualified Senior Legal Counsel in Atlanta to lead legal strategy for its rapidly scaling US business. This position offers a unique opportunity to work on a variety of legal issues related to fintech, partnerships, and regulatory compliance.

The ideal candidate should possess at least 6 years of post-qualification experience in corporate law or fintech, with strong commercial instincts and negotiation skills. YouLend offers a diverse and supportive workplace with a comprehensive benefits package.

Qualifications

• Must have a minimum of 6 years post-qualification experience in corporate, M&A or fintech.
• Experience in commercial negotiations and advising senior stakeholders is essential.
• Knowledge of US regulatory matters, especially in SME financing and bank partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiations with major US partners.
• Draft and manage complex commercial and partnership agreements.
• Advise on US regulatory matters relevant to the business.

Skills

Corporate law

Negotiation

Commercial instinct

Cross-functional collaboration

Legal judgment

Education

US-qualified lawyer (NY, CA or ATL preferred)

6+ years post-qualification experience in relevant legal fields

Job description

We’re hiring a US-qualified Senior Legal Counsel in our Atlanta office to lead YouLend’s rapidly scaling US business—offering a unique chance to work on a high-growth, startup-like trajectory, backed by the infrastructure and reach of a global fintech.

About Us

YouLend is a leading embedded financing platform enabling companies like Stripe, Etsy, GoDaddy and Grubhub to offer flexible funding to their SME customers. Our technology and APIs power seamless, fast financing at scale.

Operating across 9+ markets in the US, UK and EU, we’re continuing to scale quickly, especially in the US—doubling year-on-year—and redefining how financing is delivered. The US is an important and fast-growing market for YouLend, and this role sits at the centre of that growth.

Why this role?

We’re looking for a US-qualified Senior Legal Counsel to lead and help shape legal strategy for our US business from our Atlanta office.

This is not a narrow legal role. You’ll work across the full range of issues that come with scaling a US fintech business, from major commercial partnerships and product structuring to capital markets, governance, operations and regulatory questions.

You’ll have meaningful ownership, senior stakeholder exposure and room to grow, while being supported by a global Legal team that understands the business and operates at the centre of YouLend’s strategy.

You’ll be the primary legal business partner for US matters, working closely with senior stakeholders across the US business and the wider group. You’ll also have the support of an established global Legal team, with strong infrastructure, senior oversight and external counsel support where needed.

What you’ll be doing:

• Act as the primary legal business partner for YouLend’s US business.
• Lead negotiations on major US partnerships with global e-commerce platforms, payment service providers and other strategic partners.
• Draft, negotiate and manage complex commercial and partnership agreements.
• Work directly with product, tech, commercial, finance and operations teams to deliver pragmatic legal advice.
• Advise on scalable US product, payments and SME financing structures.
• Advise on new product launches and the continued evolution of YouLend’s US financing offering.
• Work on strategic US matters, including capital markets, restructurings, non-performing assets, group structuring and corporate governance.
• Advise on US regulatory matters relevant to the business, including state-level regulatory considerations and bank partnership structures.
• Manage external US counsel and supervise Legal team members.
• Help build scalable legal processes, templates and playbooks for the US business as it grows.

What we’re looking for:

• US-qualified lawyer (NY, CA or ATL preferred)
• At least 6 years of post-qualification experience (corporate, M&A, financing, fintech or regulatory) at a top law firm.
• Strong commercial instinct and genuine interest in fintech, embedded finance and SME financing.
• Experience with complex transactions, commercial negotiations and cross-functional work.
• Able to operate in a fast-moving environment, balancing legal rigour with commercial pragmatism.
• Clear, direct communicator with strong drafting, negotiation and legal judgment.
• Comfortable advising senior stakeholders and translating complex legal issues into practical guidance.

Nice to have:

• Fintech, financial services, payments, technology or other relevant in-house experience.
• US financial regulatory experience, especially in SME financing, embedded finance, payments or bank partnership structures.
• Cross-border transactional experience

Why YouLend:

• Award-winning legal team: Won "In-House Banking & Financial Services Team of the Year" at The Lawyer Awards 2024. Shortlisted at the British Legal Awards 2024 hosted by Law.com International for In-House Legal Team of the Year and General Counsel of the Year.
• Award-Winning Workplace: YouLend has been recognised as one of the “Best Places to Work 2024” by the Sunday Times for being a supportive, diverse, and rewarding workplace.
• Award-Winning Fintech: YouLend has been recognised as a “Top 250 Fintech Worldwide” by CNBC.

We offer comprehensive benefits package that includes:

• Health Care Coverage. YouLend covers 80%; employee contribution is 20% of the premium.
• Medical Plan (medical insurance and prescription drug coverage)- Choice of 5 different plans through United Healthcare.
• Dental plan coverage
• Vision plan coverage
• Benefits can be for: Employee only; Employee & Spouse; Employee & Child; Employee & Family
• Retirement - 401K match. Employee match $1 for $1 up to 5% of salary.
• Basic Life & AD&D Insurance.
• International travel insurance covered if traveling abroad for work purposes.
• Paid Time Off (PTO)- 20 working days (4 weeks) + US public holidays
• Paid Office Parking

At YouLend, we champion diversity and embrace equal opportunity employment practices. Our hiring, transfer, and promotion decisions are exclusively based on qualifications, merit, and business requirements, free from any discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, religion, nationality, or any other protected basis under applicable law.