Legal Counsel

When we look at the Legal area at Emmi AI, we clearly recognize a lot of activity happening across the organization that is somewhat scattered. Within existing business functions, we handle complex topics that demand deeper legal expertise.

Here are just a few areas:

• Emmi AI company incorporation and corporate development, such as Advisory Board creation

• Patents and IP maintenance

• Employment law and contracts

• Regulatory and compliance monitoring, including data protection

• Commercial and business development contracts

While we have external partners and consultants supporting these key areas, progress is often delayed as we lack the in house capacity to move things forward efficiently.

Looking ahead to 2025, we see an expanded scope for Legal, with key focus on:

• Strategic legal and risk framework planning, including product development, patent protection and IP maintenance

• Leading legal negotiations for Master Service Agreements in enterprise deals

• Drafting commercial agreements and related documents with customers, vendors, partners, and other third parties

• Conducting regulatory and compliance monitoring, including GDPR data protection or European AI Act

• Obtaining and maintaining legal certifications, such as HIPAA or SoC2

• Corporate governance and company secretarial support

• Managing the legal budget for external consultants and advisors

• Developing internal playbooks, toolkits, and processes

What we offer

• Hybrid Work Model: Enjoy the flexibility to work from any EU time zone while staying connected to our Linz hub for in-person collaboration. We value the balance between remote work and face-to-face teamwork, typically meeting in Austria once a month for 3–4 days.

• Research Hub in Austria: Stay connected to our hub in Linz, in the heart of Europe, just a short trip from Vienna with easy access to the rest of Europe.

• Impact: Shape the future of industrial AI and drive meaningful projects. Enjoy the agility and impact that comes with being a part of a impactful, dynamic team.

• Growth & Learning Opportunities: Attend conferences like NeurIPS, participate in offsites, and work in an environment that prioritizes research and continuous learning.

• Competitive & personalized Benefits: A compensation package tailored to your needs and circumstances. As an early-stage company, we offer flexibility and are committed to shaping benefits that work best for our growing team, VSOP included as we continue to build!

At Emmi AI, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences, believing they drive innovation and creativity. We encourage all qualified candidates to apply, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, or background.

In a nuthsell:

• Experience: Minimum of 5 years in a legal role in Austria or DACH region, preferably with experience in Tech, AI, SaaS or similar high-growth companies with Enterprise grade customers.

• Skills: Strong expertise in corporate law, IP, data privacy, contract law and compliance with regulations (AI Act understanding is a bonus).

• Attributes: Ability to work autonomously, build frameworks from scratch and operate as a trusted partner to Executive leadership. Able to work with external vendors and service providers on multiple disciplines

In detail:

(1) Legal expertise in core areas

• Corporate and Commercial Law: In-depth knowledge of corporate governance, company incorporation, and structuring. Proven experience with corporate development within a start-up or high-growth environment is highly valuable.

• Employment Law: Understanding of employment and contractor laws, especially in international and remote contexts. Ability to review and negotiate employment contracts and employee-related policies.

• Regulatory Compliance: Proficiency in navigating regulatory frameworks like GDPR. Demonstrated experience building compliance frameworks in response to complex regulations.

• Contract Negotiation and Drafting: Skilled in drafting, negotiating, and managing high-value commercial contracts, MSAs and Strategic partnership agreements.

(2) Strategic Management abilities

• Forward-looking Approach: Strategic mindset with the ability to anticipate legal needs tied to Emmi AI growth trajectory. Should be capable of advising on long-term planning and impact of legal developments on business strategy.

• Budget Management: Experience overseeing a legal budget and allocating resources efficiently, particularly in managing costs for external consultants or legal advisors.

• Risk Assessment & Mitigation: Ability to assess potential risks related to product development, regulatory shifts, and data privacy. Proven experience in developing risk management frameworks.

(3) Start-up or High-Growth Environment Experience

• Agility and Adaptability: Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, often ambiguous environment. Comfortable building legal frameworks from scratch or adapting quickly as the company evolves.

• Cross-functional Collaboration: Proven track record of collaborating with non-legal stakeholders, particularly in product, engineering, and business development, to ensure legal considerations are embedded in operational decisions.

(4)Communication and Interpersonal Skills

• Influence and Leadership: Experience advising C-level executives with the capability to build trust and influence decision-making. Capable of leading legal negotiations and representing Emmi AI’s interests in high-stakes discussions.

• Development of Internal Legal Processes

  • Process Development: Experience building legal playbooks, toolkits and processes to streamline contract management, compliance and IP protection.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Intellectual Property (IP) and Patents knowledge: Basic understanding in managing IP portfolios, patent filings, and enforcing IP rights. Experience with emerging technology patents or AI-related IP protection is an advantage.

• Proactive and Solutions-Oriented: Ability to act as a legal “business partner” who supports and enables growth, not just a compliance gatekeeper.

• Clear Communicator: Strong verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to convey complex legal issues in a clear, approachable manner to non-legal stakeholders.

• Enabler: Understanding of scalable legal operations to support a growing organization, including supporting other team members in handling legal matters autonomously where appropriate.