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Legal Director - Defence

At Improbable, we’re bringing together technology and games to create new opportunities and experiences. In order to achieve this, we need unique perspectives from diverse people, empowered to revolutionise how online games are made, delivered and paid for.

We believe one of the biggest, most impactful changes to the way we live our lives is going to come from the medium of games. Realising new communities, societies and vocations through virtual worlds is what drives our people and gives them purpose.

The Improbable defence division, building on the backbone of SpatialOS, has combined world class scientific modelling, market leading AI, mission specific user interfaces and a uniquely flexible and secure deployment model to create a powerful simulation platform tailored to the needs of the military. The team consists of nearly 100 people across the UK and US, with people spanning roles from modelling to security, partner engineering to business development.

The Improbable legal team is headquartered in the London Spitalfields office, and at the moment is a team of ten (eight qualified lawyers, a paralegal and our Head of Security). We are expanding rapidly and are currently recruiting in London and internationally. Although the majority of the legal team is based at our London office, we also have Legal Directors in the US and China.

This broad role is for an exceptional and passionate lawyer to join the Improbable legal team and provide commercial and practical advice to our growing defence business. The defence team is comprised of experienced, versatile and entrepreneurial individuals that want to help solve some of the most critical challenges that face both governments and multinational defence organisations.

Areas for Impact

• As the sole lawyer in the UK dedicated to the defence team, you will need to be able to work independently and with the other members of the defence team, you will work on a wide range of partner, customer and other commercial contracts.
• You will support other initiatives such as related intellectual property, security, marketing, privacy and data security issues associated with the projects that we are delivering.
• You will also assist with creating strategy frameworks and playbooks as well as setting up processes and precedent documents within the defence function.
• You will provide practical, decisive guidance to our Business Development, Marketing, Partnerships and Product teams, as well as other business colleagues, balancing business objectives and legal risk.
• You will have a commercial outlook and appetite to support a business through a period of significant growth; you will understand the bigger picture and can future-proof our strategy when it comes to contracting with customers and partners.
• You will play an important role in improving the responsiveness and efficiency of the defence team, will be key in implementing effective, agile and scalable legal processes, and will be expected to advise on a wide array of legal issues.

We'd like to hear from you if you identify with the following:

• English qualified solicitor, having trained in a top city firm, with prior experience in the technology sector and/or working with/for start-ups.
• A minimum of 8 years PQE at a law firm, or comparable in-house or government position (combination preferred).
• BA/BSc/LLB degree preferred with an impressive academic record.
• Demonstrated experience in complex software licensing, contract negotiations and managing compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
• Familiarity with and passion for emerging digital technologies.
• Effectiveness in managing project expectations, upper level management reporting, and escalation management.
• Ability to work concurrently on a variety of projects, effectively prioritise and work under demanding deadlines.
• Strong work ethic and flexibility and willingness to work on a broad variety of complicated and nuanced issues (including commercial as well as legal matters).
• We want you to have an interest in technology and the way technology can be used in the defence space, but a background in defence work/government contracting is not essential; you should be prepared to work hard to learn on the job.
• You will ideally be looking to move into a mixed commercial and legal role.
• Please note that you may be required to obtain UK national security clearance in the future for this role.

The best ideas are often the least expected and require new ways of thinking; that’s why our teams at Improbable are made up of an incredible range of talented people. Improbable is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, colour, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, marital status or any other legally protected status.