Legal Counsel (Netherlands or U.K)

Job description

**About Us** OpenFX is on a mission to **move money as freely as data, unrestricted by time zones, banking hours, or legacy systems.** We are building the infrastructure that will power the next generation of cross-border payment systems for institutions. The team's execution has been exceptional, and we're scaling at a remarkable pace. Our stellar early team comes with experience in companies like J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, FalconX, Paypal, Affirm, Polygon, Kraken, Nium & others. We’re backed by Accel, Lightspeed, NfX and other top-tier investors. **Role Overview** We're seeking an exceptional **Legal Counsel** to serve as a strategic partner and legal advisor across our business, with a particular focus on licensing (MiCAR / PSD2), financial product development and financial partnerships. This role combines the intellectual challenge of navigating cutting-edge financial technology with the opportunity to shape legal strategy in the early stages at a high-growth company. You'll work on some of the most complex and interesting problems at the intersection of cross-border payments, cryptocurrency, foreign exchange and technology—providing pragmatic, business-oriented counsel that enables rapid growth while managing risk effectively. The ideal candidate is a team player who is energized by a high-growth environment and translating complex legal requirements and legal ambiguity into clear, actionable strategies. You move quickly with sound judgment, and excel as a trusted senior advisor to product, engineering, compliance, and business teams. **Key Responsibilities:** - **Product Legal** - Advise product and engineering teams on the legal and regulatory aspects of product design, development, and launch, with a particular focus on payment and banking products - Translate complex regulatory requirements into clear guidance that helps teams build compliant products while growing rapidly - **Regulatory & Licensing Strategy** - Partner closely with business teams and compliance to develop and execute licensing and market entry strategies across the EU and UK, as well as contributing to and overseeing license applications. - Provide practical, forward-thinking regulatory guidance on the complex and evolving regulatory landscape for payments, money transmission, cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, and cross-border transactions across global markets, leveraging local counsel efficiently and effectively - Identify potential regulatory risks and develop creative, pragmatic solutions to mitigate them while achieving business objectives - **Corporate & General Legal Matters** - Provide comprehensive legal support across the full range of corporate legal matters impacting the company, including corporate governance and board matters, employment and HR issues, privacy, intellectual property, fundraising and strategic transactions, and other general corporate legal needs as the business scales - Identify, assess, and develop mitigation strategies for legal and business risks across the organization - **Cross-Functional Partnership** - Serve as a strategic business partner to leadership, product, engineering, and growth teams - Manage external counsel and consultants efficiently to support the business with cost-effective, high-quality legal services - Build scalable legal processes and frameworks that support OpenFX's rapid growth - Contribute to building a collaborative, high-performing legal function **What we are looking for** **Must-haves:** - 7+ years of legal working experience (in-house or private practice) - Excellent academic credentials and a traineeship at a top-tier law firm. - Experience advising fintechs and/or other financial institutions - Strong knowledge of financial services regulations and payments regulations (including, in particular, MiCAR, PSD2, EMD, Dutch Financial Supervision Act and AML legislation) - Proven ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal advice that appropriately balances risk with commercial objectives - Experience working collaboratively with product, engineering, compliance, and business teams - Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills combining creativity with meticulous attention to detail - Outstanding written and verbal communication skills - Self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and takes ownership of work - Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities and execute quickly **What helps you stand out:** - Knowledge and experience with cryptocurrency and/or Banking as a Service (BaaS) products - Startup or high-growth company experience - Significant experience with international regulatory regimes and cross-border transactions **What We Offer** - Competitive salary and benefits package. - Equity in a rapidly growing company. - Opportunity to work in a fast-paced startup at the forefront of fintech innovation. - Opportunity to make a significant impact on global financial infrastructure - Collaborative work culture with emphasis on personal and professional growth. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.