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Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance, Product and Privacy
Remote, Home Based - Americas; Home based - EMEA; Office Based - London, UK·Added 1 month ago
Overview
Requirements
Have the right to work in Spain
Canonical doesn't mention sponsorship, but this role may fit the Digital nomad visa.
Work in English
English is required, per the ad.
Work remotely, within limits
This role is home-based in EMEA or the Americas, with an option of working from our London office.
University degree
“A degree in law, JD or equivalent, and active licence to practise law or current progress towards that” — per the ad.
Pay & benefits
What you'll get
We consider geographical location, experience, and performance in shaping compensation worldwide. We revisit compensation annually (and more often for graduates and associates) to ensure we recognize outstanding performance. In addition to base pay, we offer a performance-driven annual bonus or commission. We provide all team members with additional benefits which reflect our values and ideals. We balance our programs to meet local needs and ensure fairness globally.
- Distributed work environment with twice-yearly team sprints in person
- Personal learning and development budget of USD 2,000 per year
- Annual compensation review
- Recognition rewards
- Annual holiday leave
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Team Member Assistance Program & Wellness Platform
- Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues
- Priority Pass and travel upgrades for long-haul company events
Requirements
What we're looking for
- An exceptional academic track record from both high school and university
- A degree in law, JD or equivalent, and active licence to practise law or current progress towards that
- Drive and a track record of going above-and-beyond expectations
- Professional written and spoken English with excellent drafting and presentation skills
- Confidence to respectfully speak up, exchange feedback, and share ideas without hesitation
- Appreciative of diversity; polite and effective in a multicultural multinational organisation
- Ability to stay organised, proactive and efficient
- Ability to demonstrate good commercial judgement
- Ability to travel twice a year, for company events up to two weeks long
Nice to have
- Experience in compliance, data privacy, or product development
- Leadership and the ability to influence others to embrace new ideas or practices
- Understanding of the open source software community and values
- Understanding of the technology industry - silicon, data centers, PCs, connected devices, and software
- Experience working on in-house legal team and/or law firm
The role
Canonical is a leading provider of open source software and operating systems to the global enterprise and technology markets. Our platform, Ubuntu, is very widely used in breakthrough enterprise initiatives such as public cloud, data science, AI, engineering innovation and IoT. Our customers include the world's leading public cloud and silicon providers, and industry leaders in many sectors. The company is a pioneer of globally-distributed collaboration, with 1200+ colleagues in 80+ countries and very few roles based in offices. Teams meet two to four times yearly in person, in interesting locations around the world, to align on strategy and execution.
The company is founder led, profitable and growing. We are privately held with the intention to list on a public exchange.
We are expanding our in-house legal team, creating an opportunity for an exceptional lawyer as Legal Advisor or Legal Counsel. The successful candidate will be a rigorous and effective practitioner with a track record of academic achievement and social engagement. At Canonical, you will have the opportunity to work on a variety of compliance and privacy matters in the technology and enterprise software realm, as well as cutting-edge questions of technology, law and product development. In this role we are looking for someone with some experience in compliance, privacy and product development, paired with an ability to learn and tackle new challenges and complex questions. You should be able to demonstrate good commercial judgement and provide high-quality legal and compliance advice. If you have a rigorous work ethic, capability to grasp details, and the ambition to identify opportunities for improvement, this role is for you.
Location: This role is home-based in EMEA or the Americas, with an option of working from our London office.
What you'll do
- Drafting and reviewing corporate policies, spearheading process change and deploying controls to meet compliance regulatory requirements globally
- Helping develop, maintain and scale global privacy programs. This includes conducting PIAs, ROPAs and supporting operational initiatives
- Working with cross functional with teams to evaluate the impact of privacy and data protection laws and regulations, including AI regulations
- Providing legal support to various internal clients across the company, including Canonical's product teams
- Working with local counsel in many countries to seek and implement advice
Hiring process
Application
Written interview
In your own time
A written submission tailored to the role presenting your academic and professional accomplishments; you choose format and length, and two domain experts grade it.
Psychometric assessment (GIA)
Online test · 30–45 min
A cognitive-ability test measuring aptitude, problem solving and speed of learning, required for all applicants.
Technical assessment
Not every role
A domain-specific assessment for some roles, graded by domain experts and discussed in later interviews.
Early stage interviews
With future colleagues and stakeholders · 3 sessions
Three interviews with future colleagues and stakeholders focused on technical and domain skills.
Talent interview
With Talent Science team
Interview with the Talent Science team including a 10-minute Personality Profile Analysis; compensation is first discussed here.
Late stage interviews
With potential manager, Hiring Lead and senior stakeholders
Meet your potential manager, the Hiring Lead and senior stakeholders; management and leadership candidates also meet the CEO.
Offer and onboarding · With a Hiring Lead
- After application review you get a personal dashboard showing your assessment and interview plan.
- The written interview is submitted anonymously to reduce bias early on.
- You may apply to a single job once, or to four different jobs, in any 180-day period.
About Canonical
Canonical is the publisher of Ubuntu, the world's most widely used open-source operating system for cloud, IoT, and enterprise environments. Founded in 2004, the company is a global leader in open-source software, providing secure, supported Ubuntu solutions to enterprises, developers, and device manufacturers. With a distributed workforce spanning over 80 countries, Canonical drives innovation in areas like AI, edge computing, and cloud-native technologies, making it a key player in the open-source ecosystem.
Canonical has a strong presence in Spain, with a significant number of open roles across engineering, product, marketing, and sales. The company is known for its fully remote-first culture, allowing employees to work from anywhere, including Spain. For international professionals, Canonical offers a unique opportunity to contribute to world-class open-source projects, collaborate with a global team, and enjoy flexible work arrangements. The company values autonomy, excellence, and a passion for open-source, making it an attractive employer for those seeking a dynamic, remote-friendly environment.
- Industry
- Cloud/Ubuntu
- Founded
- 2004
- Employees
- 1,000–5,000
- Headquarters
- London, UK
- Website
- canonical.com
Good to know if you are moving
- Canonical is a remote-first company, allowing employees to work from anywhere, including Spain, with no requirement to relocate to a central office.
- The company offers a diverse, international work environment with colleagues from over 80 countries, providing a global perspective.
- Canonical is a major contributor to open-source projects, offering opportunities to work on widely-used technologies like Ubuntu, Kubernetes, and OpenStack.
- Employees often receive a competitive salary and benefits, including home office setup allowances and professional development opportunities.
- The company values autonomy and self-motivation, making it ideal for professionals who thrive in a flexible, results-driven culture.
In their own words
About the company & team
Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open-source projects and the platform for AI, IoT, and the cloud, we are changing the world of software. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence; in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Most colleagues at Canonical have worked from home since our inception in 2004. Working here is a step into the future and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills, and raise your game.
Additional information
We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and background create a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.










