Senior Legal Counsel - Product, Privacy & Regulatory

PQE Partners are working with a scale up technology business looking to appoint a Senior Legal Counsel to its Sydney legal team.

This is a highly autonomous role sitting at the intersection of product development, privacy, data and emerging regulation, supporting a business developing and scaling technology products globally.

Rather than operating as a traditional advisory function, Legal works closely with Product and Engineering as products are being developed. The successful candidate will be expected to get involved early – understanding what the business is trying to achieve, identifying potential legal and regulatory constraints and helping teams find practical ways forward.

The role offers a broad remit and significant exposure to senior stakeholders, while remaining hands-on and closely connected to the day-to-day development of the business.

In this role, you will:

• Partner with Product and Engineering teams throughout the product lifecycle, from initial ideation and design through to launch and ongoing development.
• Advise on privacy, data protection and data governance issues across new and existing products.
• Help embed privacy and regulatory considerations into product design and development.
• Advise on emerging regulatory issues across areas such as payments, financial services, digital assets, AML/CTF, sanctions, online safety and AI.
• Work through novel legal questions where regulation may be evolving and provide clear, practical recommendations to the business.
• Support broader commercial and corporate matters where required, working as part of a lean legal function.
• Build strong relationships across Product, Engineering, Growth and other business teams.
• Work directly with senior executives on strategic projects, new initiatives and areas of legal or regulatory risk.
• Contribute to legal processes, systems and ways of working as the function continues to develop.

You will be an experienced lawyer with a background in technology, fintech, digital platforms or another product-led and regulated environment.

Of particular interest will be candidates with:

• Strong product legal experience and a track record of working directly with Product and/or Engineering teams.
• Experience getting involved during product ideation and design, rather than primarily providing legal review immediately before launch.
• Good knowledge of privacy and data, with the confidence to take ownership of complex matters.
• Exposure to regulatory issues affecting technology or digital products.
• Experience working in a fast-moving environment where priorities change and lawyers are expected to operate with a high degree of independence.
• Strong commercial judgement and an ability to give a clear recommendation rather than simply identify legal risk.
• The confidence to work with and influence senior stakeholders.
• A practical, curious and solutions-focused approach.

You do not need to bring deep expertise across every area of regulation relevant to the business. The team is particularly interested in lawyers who have a strong foundation across product and privacy/data, combined with the ability to quickly get across unfamiliar or emerging issues.

Similarly, previous experience within this particular industry is not required. Relevant backgrounds could include technology, fintech, payments, SaaS, digital platforms, marketplaces or other businesses where lawyers work closely with teams developing and launching products.

The legal function is intentionally lean, providing significant ownership and visibility across the business. This would particularly suit someone who enjoys being close to Product and Engineering, operating with autonomy and working through complex issues where the answer isn't always black and white.
There is also scope for the role to grow as the business and legal function continue to develop.

A competitive remuneration package including long-term incentives is available, alongside hybrid working from the Sydney CBD office.