Opportunity at
CanonicalGeneral Counsel
Canonical seeks a General Counsel to lead the global Legal and Compliance division, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer. This position is open to candidates…
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About This Role
Canonical seeks a General Counsel to lead the global Legal and Compliance division, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer. This position is open to candidates based remotely within EMEA time zones. The chosen professional will oversee the company's regulatory, governance, and legal operations across both the Americas and EMEA, managing a distributed legal team and working toward public-market readiness. Responsibilities include guiding the commercial contracting framework, directing intellectual property…
Job Description
Canonical seeks a General Counsel to lead the global Legal and Compliance division, reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer. This position is open to candidates based remotely within EMEA time zones. The chosen professional will oversee the company's regulatory, governance, and legal operations across both the Americas and EMEA, managing a distributed legal team and working toward public-market readiness. Responsibilities include guiding the commercial contracting framework, directing intellectual property and open source licensing strategy, managing worldwide compliance programmes, and advising executive leadership including the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and the Board of Directors. The role suits an experienced, commercially minded senior lawyer with a strong software industry background and deep familiarity with open source dynamics. Canonical is a profitable, founder-led technology firm established in 2004 that is recognized for creating Ubuntu and driving open source adoption globally across public cloud, AI, IoT, and data science sectors.
Responsibilities
- Lead the worldwide Legal and Compliance function and set its standards, structure, and priorities across EMEA and the Americas
- Hire, develop, and supervise regional managers while establishing the operating cadence and workload intake for the team
- Partner with Finance to handle public-market readiness, corporate governance, group and entity structures, policies, and disclosure controls
- Advise the executive leadership team and Board of Directors, providing support during board and committee meetings
- Oversee the commercial contracting framework, standard agreement templates, and escalation protocols
- Direct intellectual property and open source licensing strategy, covering copyleft, trademarks, and Ubuntu distribution terms
- Manage the global compliance programme encompassing privacy, trade compliance, export controls, competition, anti-bribery, and AI regulation
- Supervise regulatory engagements, disputes, litigation, and the external counsel panel budget
- Advise on company growth initiatives including strategic alliances, M&A, partnerships, and financing
Requirements
- Active license to practice law in an EMEA or Americas jurisdiction
- Substantial senior in-house legal experience within a software or global technology enterprise
- Proven background in leading distributed legal teams across multiple time zones
- Demonstrated experience negotiating enterprise technology agreements, subscription models, channel partners, and cloud services
- Familiarity with permissive and copyleft open source licensing and community operations
- Readiness for public company governance and listing preparations
- Expertise in at least two areas among data protection and privacy, competition, IP and trademark, disputes, or export controls
- Professional written and spoken English proficiency with strong presentation and drafting abilities
- Availability for international travel two to four times annually for company events lasting up to two weeks
Qualifications
- Exceptional academic background from both high school and university
- Law degree or equivalent professional qualification
- Prior experience guiding a company through an IPO or working as counsel inside a publicly listed entity
- Technical or engineering background with an understanding of software development and deployment
- Experience working in a recurring-revenue or subscription business model
- Background in building or restructuring an internal legal department
- Qualifications to practice in more than one jurisdiction
Core Skills
Benefits
- Global compensation shaped by geographical location, experience, and performance, reviewed annually
- Performance-driven annual bonus or commission
- Distributed work environment featuring twice-yearly in-person team sprints
- Annual personal learning and development budget of 2,000 USD
- Company recognition rewards
- 40 days of annual leave including public holidays and company holiday periods
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Team Member Assistance Program and Wellness Platform
- Priority Pass for airport lounge access during company travel
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers are based only on the employer’s listing; where it doesn’t say, neither do we.
What is the remote work policy for this role?
The position is based remotely within EMEA time zones, though it requires international travel two to four times a year for company events lasting up to two weeks.
Who does the General Counsel report to?
The General Counsel reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer.
What qualifications are required for applicants?
Applicants must hold a law degree or equivalent, maintain an active license to practice in an EMEA or Americas jurisdiction, and possess substantial senior in-house experience in a global technology or software business.
Is the salary specified in the job posting?
No, the exact salary is not stated in the posting, though the company notes that compensation is shaped by geographical location, experience, and performance, and is reviewed annually alongside performance-driven bonuses.
Sample Interview Questions
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