Senior legal Counsel

About the role

The Role Orbital has been scaling fast, and our legal function needs to keep up. We currently work with external legal counsel across UK and US matters, and we're now looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to bring on in a FTE capacity, to own our legal function now, and shape how it looks in the future as we grow — bringing structure, strategy, and sharp judgment to everything from commercial contracts to IP protection.

This isn't a fractional legal reviewer or an external-style adviser. It's an embedded business partner — someone who sits alongside product, commercial, and leadership teams to give legal a seat at the table before decisions are made, not after.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the global sales teams as they negotiate commercial contracts (standard contracts for our products, NDAs, DPAs)—you will be the legal partner to them, ensuring we secure customers quickly, fairly and in a sustainable way.

• Partner with individuals and teams across the business around vendor contracts—ensuring contracts are reviewed with a legal lens and teams understand what they are signing up for when bringing on new vendors.

• Field legal questions from across the business—knowing when you can advise directly, and when external specialist legal advice is required. These will include queries from the People team (eg. HR and employment law), the Finance team (eg. stock option schemes, cap table management etc), the InfoSec team (eg. data protection).

• Build a proactive partnership with product—understanding the roadmap so legal risks are surfaced before features ship, pricing models change, or new suppliers come on board, not after.

• Anticipate where the business is heading—understanding Orbital's growth goals well enough to spot the legal risks and gaps on the horizon and get ahead of them before they become problems.

• Lead significant legal change projects—terms revamps, new commercial frameworks, major product or supplier transitions—work that touches multiple teams and needs a legal owner who can drive it end-to-end, not just advise on it.

• Train the wider team on where legal starts and ends, to contain escalations and ensure they are targeted and appropriate.

• Build a trusted and valued function, embedded across leadership of the business.

• Partner with Operations to ensure the legal function is operating efficiently, using AI and technology to scale with the company.

• Resource planning for the future team we might need and management of any external counsel required as extra support.

Requirements

Prior in-house legal experience at a scaling SaaS company is essential. Law firm experience alone is not sufficient — we need someone who has operated inside a fast-moving business and understands what that demands.

You know the difference between what matters and what doesn't. In-house legal at a scale-up requires pragmatism: picking your battles, moving at commercial pace, and being genuinely helpful rather than a blocker.

You've been the person in the room who makes things move, not slow them down — pragmatic, commercially minded, and easy to work with.

A background in both private practice and in-house is common in this role, but the in-house experience is what we'll weigh most heavily.

Qualifications

JD degree from an accredited law school.

5+ years of relevant in-house legal experience at a SaaS company.

Experience with contract negotiation, vendor management, and legal risk assessment.

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Ability to work independently and as part of a team.

Passion for technology and its impact on the legal industry.

Experience with legal project management and process improvement.

Experience with data privacy and cybersecurity regulations.

Experience with intellectual property law and strategy.

Experience with regulatory compliance and legal risk management.

Skills

• Contract drafting and negotiation

• Vendor management

• Legal risk assessment

• Project management

• Data privacy and cybersecurity

• Intellectual property law and strategy

• Regulatory compliance and legal risk management

Benefits

Competitive compensation package including base salary, performance-based bonuses, equity, and benefits.

Flexible work schedule with the option to work remotely.

Health insurance, dental, vision, and wellness programs.

Professional development opportunities through training and mentorship programs.

Annual bonus based on company and individual performance.

401(k) retirement plan with company match.

Generous paid time off and holidays.

Employee recognition program.

Company-sponsored events and social activities.

Access to cutting-edge technology and tools.

Opportunities for career growth and advancement.

Pay

$150,000 - $200,000 annually.

Schedule

Full-time, 40 hours per week.

Based in NYC, with occasional travel to London as needed.

Flexible remote work options available.

Regular in-office attendance expected.