General Counsel
We are looking for a hands-on General Counsel to lead our in-house legal function to support our evolving needs as we scale toward long-term operational maturity and category leadership. Reporting to the COO, the GC will serve as a strategic legal advisor to executive leadership while remaining deeply connected to the day-to-day work of the business.
This role lives at the intersection of strategic counsel and hands-on execution. You’ll inherit a small, capable legal team already managing the day-to-day commercial legal operations and work beside them as a true player-coach.
This is a perfect position for an ambitious lawyer who moves fluidly between board-level counsel and day-to-day operations, and wants to lead a function at a rapidly scaling company that’s defining how the world manages cyber risk.
What will you do?
-
Legal Strategy & Operations
-
Act as a strategic legal advisor to executive leadership, proactively identifying risks and opportunities to support informed, high-impact decisions.
-
Assess UpGuard's current legal and compliance posture across key areas; identify gaps against applicable standards; and develop a sequenced, prioritised roadmap that reflects business risk, organisational capacity, and realistic timelines — then lead the company through the change required to close those gaps.
-
Lead and develop the in-house legal team, implementing scalable processes and metrics-driven practices to accelerate deals and reduce risk.
-
-
Compliance, Privacy & Risk
-
Build and execute a scalable compliance program covering data privacy (GDPR, CCPA), OFAC/trade compliance, anti-bribery, AI governance, and ethics — with particular emphasis on driving organisational alignment and adoption beyond policy creation.
-
Identify and mitigate legal and regulatory risks across the business, working cross-functionally to embed compliance awareness into day-to-day decision-making.
-
-
Corporate & Governance
-
Manage corporate legal activities, including governance, equity administration, and any M&A or financing activity as it arises.
-
Advise People and Finance teams on employment law matters across UpGuard's global workforce, including hiring, employee relations, equity programs, and local labor law compliance.
-
Support board governance functions, including preparation of board materials, maintenance of corporate records, and management of director obligations across jurisdictions.
-
-
Product & Intellectual Property
-
Provide strategic product counselling to product, engineering, and go-to-market teams, addressing legal issues and enabling compliant, successful product launches.
-
Direct intellectual property strategy, proactively protecting and managing UpGuard's trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.
-
Advise on the legal and regulatory implications of AI-driven features, data handling practices, and cybersecurity product capabilities as the platform evolves.
-
What will you bring?
-
10+ years of legal experience (with 4+ years in a leadership role), with a strong in-house background at an international, B2B SaaS company.
-
Law degree and admission to, and in good standing with, the local governing body.
-
Proven experience building a compliance program at a scaling company — including assessing current posture, defining improvement targets, sequencing priorities, and executing change.
-
Demonstrated ability to drive compliance and legal improvements across functions with competing priorities: communicating risk in business terms, building cross-functional buy-in, and moving organisations through change with practical, actionable guidance aligned with business and technology objectives.
-
Deep understanding with sell-side SaaS contracting and experience navigating complicated deals across various deal sizes and buyer types.
-
Strong interpersonal and cross-functional collaboration skills, with experience providing responsive, business-oriented legal support across global teams, time zones, cultures, and distributed (hybrid/remote) environments.
-
Experience implementing AI tools and workflow automation to enhance legal operations, drive efficiency, and scale support for business needs.
What will give you an edge?
-
Prior experience as General Counsel or Deputy General Counsel at a B2B SaaS company at a comparable growth stage (post-Series B or C, approximately 200–600 employees).
-
A track record of building compliance programs from the ground up at a company navigating rapid scale.
-
Background in cybersecurity, data privacy, or another regulated technology sector, with related certifications (CIPP/US, CIPP/E, etc.) a plus.
-
Experience building real alignment with go-to-market, product, and marketing teams on legal and compliance priorities, and driving meaningful, lasting change through incremental steps that scale with the business.
What's in it for you?
- Monthly Lifestyle subsidy: Use this for financial, physical, and mental well-being
- WFH set-up allowance: To ensure you have the right environment to work in, we will help you get set up within your first 3 months at UpGuard
- $1500 USD annual Learning & Development allowance: To support your career development, all team members will be able to expense development opportunities against this allowance
- Annual leave: PTO plus two additional UpGuardian leave days to give you time to recharge your batteries.
- 18 weeks paid Parental Leave: Irrespective of parenting role
- Personal Leave Allowance: This includes sick & carer’s leave
- Fully remote working environment: While we have physical offices in Sydney & Hobart, we do not mandate compulsory attendance
- Top-spec hardware: All team members will be provided with top-spec laptops for their role
- Generative AI subsidy: UpGuard provides paid subscriptions for all team members to access generative AI tools to support their work
- Health Insurance: Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Stock Options
Sign up for Job Alerts
In-House Counsel Guides
- Network At Our LinkedIn Group!- InhouseBlog® News
- Legal Jobs by Location/Category
- 2026 In-House Salary Guide
- Legal Recruiter Directory
- General Counsel Jobs
- Deputy General Counsel Jobs
- Chief Compliance Officer Jobs
- Remote Legal Jobs
- Law Jobs by City/Practice Area
- General Counsel Directory
- How to Find an In-House Job
- Prep Your In-House Resume
- Ace the In-House Interview
- Master Service Agreement Guide
- Statement of Work Checklist
- Software License Checklist
- Paralegal & Legal Assistant Jobs
- Law Firm Jobs
- YourGeneralCounsel.com
