International Legal Counsel

About the role

Anduril’s Legal Team seeks a Legal Counsel-International to support our international government and commercial businesses and deploy the future technology of defense. In this role, you will work on every aspect of Anduril’s business, from helping the business development team drive new government deals, to negotiating hardware, license and services agreements, offset arrangements, and industrial cooperation obligations, to handling intellectual property, compliance, and related matters. This position is based in Cosa Mesa, CA. This role will be part of Anduril’s Deal Team, which supports the full lifecycle of Anduril contracts and includes government contracts lawyers, contract managers, and proposal managers.

About the job

In this role, you will be responsible for providing legal review and guidance on issues related to proposals, procurement, contracting strategies, and day-to-day program execution for the applicable Anduril Division in partnership with the Global Defense team. You will have a robust understanding of international government contracting, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), and hybrid FMS/DCS structures as well data rights, and software contracting in a cross-border context. Familiarity with U.S. government contracts law, the FAR, and DFARS is valuable as a foundation, but the primary focus of this role is international commercial and government contracting. This role will partner closely with Anduril's International Trade Compliance team on export licensing strategy, customers, outside counsel, and business partners across the organization to support business development and legal operations.

Required qualifications

• 3+ years of work on international government contracts, defense trade, or U.S. government contracts matters, preferably with a law firm, defense industry, or the government (more senior lawyers are also encouraged to apply, the position may be adjusted based on experience)
• An understanding of international defense contracting, particularly FMS and DCS, or hybrid structure contract vehicles, software acquisition approaches, and data rights
• The judgment and initiative required to make risk-adjusted decisions for the company and own multiple projects from end-to-end, whether guiding the Business Development team through the lifecycle of a deal or handling unexpected legal issues that may arise in defense or start-up companies
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Quick learner and able to contribute to the broader start-up legal function, including topics that may be completely new to you: everything from IP and litigation to financing, securities, compliance, and employment law, depending on the needs of the day
• Licensed to practice law in CA
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Pre-law school professional experience (e.g., military or government)
• Experience with international commercial contracting and negotiations, including international arbitration clauses, sovereign immunity waivers, letters of credit/sovereign payment instruments, and Incoterms.
• Combination of law-firm and in-house or government experience
• Experience working with foreign government customers, particularly in Asia-Pacific (eg. Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, Philippines, Singapore) or the Americas (eg. Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico).
• Familiarity with regional defense frameworks and sensitivities.
• Regional language capability (Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, or Portuguese)
• Experience with international teaming, agent/representative, or reseller structures, including FCPA-compliant onboarding and due diligence
• Experience with engineering, software, or other technology
• An interest in the law and policy of defense acquisitions with opinions about what is right or wrong in the field and how to fix it
• The ability and grit to operate independently within a rapidly evolving company

Pay

US Salary Range: $191,000 - $253,000 USD