Legal Counsel - Regulatory Compliance, Product and Privacy

canonical

Home Based - Americas; Home based - EMEA; Office Based - London, UK · Home Based - Americas; Home based - EMEA; Office Based - London · United Kingdom

Posted May 20, 2026

Other
Operations

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Job description

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.

The role entails

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

What we are looking for in you

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 skills

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

What we offer colleagues

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

About Canonical

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.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer

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.