Legal Counsel

Overview

In this role you will independently manage broad commercial legal matters to enable Wayve’s global growth in embodied AI. You’ll draft and negotiate agreements, advise on IP, AI, data, privacy and employment, and support international expansion and new product deployments. You’ll operate at the intersection of law, technology and scalable operations, translating risk into practical paths forward. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams and shape legal processes as Wayve expands. This is a hands-on, commercially minded legal role with meaningful impact on partnerships, products and compliance.

Pay / Benefits

• Salaries benchmarked against the market annually
• Meaningful equity and ownership in Wayve
• Relocation support and visa sponsorship where applicable
• Hybrid working with core hours
• Learning and development budgets for training and conferences
• Comprehensive benefits including health and dental insurance, enhanced parental leave, pension, wellbeing support

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements (supplier, software/SaaS, services, OEM and Tier 1 contracts)
• Advise on IP, AI and data usage for AI development and training
• Tackle novel legal questions at the intersection of law and AI as frameworks evolve
• Counsel People on global employment and HR matters, with jurisdictional support as needed
• Advise on data protection and privacy related to products, partnerships and AI development
• Support strategic initiatives, international expansion and new product deployments
• Assist Fleet Operations and other teams with legal aspects of vehicle deployment in international markets
• Develop scalable legal processes, templates, playbooks and governance to support growth
• Educate stakeholders on commercial risk and contracting best practices
• Collaborate with external counsel when required

Key requirements

• Qualified solicitor in England and Wales
• 2–4 years PQE (or similar) with room for variation
• Strong experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements (procurement, supply chain, technology, vendor contracts)
• Ability to negotiate directly with counterparties and explain legal positions pragmatically
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management; ability to simplify complex issues for non-legal audiences
• Experience supporting strategic commercial transactions in fast-moving tech environments
• Experience advising on employment matters for a global workforce or willingness to develop in this area
• Autonomous working style with initiative and sound judgement on escalation needs
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with legal and non-legal teams
• Strong organisational and prioritisation skills for multiple workstreams
• Willingness to tackle novel questions with limited precedent
• Experience in automotive/mobility or tech sector is a plus
• Experience supporting OEM/large-scale B2B transactions involving hardware, software or data is a plus
• Exposure to AI, data or autonomous vehicle-related legal issues is a plus
• Cross-border advisory experience (UK/US/Europe/Japan) is a plus
• German market experience and local counsel engagement is a plus
• Automation and scaling of legal processes or templates is a plus
• Autonomous vehicles/robotics/AI experience is valuable but not essential

• Strong communication and stakeholder management
• Commercial judgement and pragmatic problem-solving
• Ability to communicate risk clearly to non-legal stakeholders
• IP, AI and data usage advisory
• Data protection and privacy compliance
• Contract lifecycle management for procurement, software/SaaS and vendor contracts

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