Location
London office with hybrid working model combining in-person collaboration and remote work. Some international travel may be required.

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Negotiable

About the Role
Wayve is building the embodied intelligence that moves real vehicles safely and the ecosystem a billion machines will run on in the future. The Legal Counsel role sits within the Commercial Legal team, reporting to the Managing Counsel, and plays a key role as Wayve scales globally and deploys embodied AI technology in real-world applications. Based in London, you will collaborate closely with commercial, procurement, engineering, product, privacy, People and Fleet Operations teams on a broad range of commercial and cross-border matters. This role offers significant ownership and autonomy, helping stakeholders understand legal and commercial risks and finding practical solutions in areas where precedent and market practice are still evolving.

You will independently manage a wide range of commercial legal matters, draft and negotiate agreements, advise on IP, AI, data, privacy and employment issues, and support strategic initiatives, international expansion and new product deployments. This is an opportunity for a commercially minded lawyer who enjoys working at the intersection of law, AI, product innovation and operational scale, exercising judgement in a fast-moving environment and providing solutions-oriented advice.

Key Responsibilities
- Draft, review and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements including supplier, software/SaaS, services, OEM customer and Tier 1 supplier contracts involving IP, data, privacy and technology-related issues.
- Advise on intellectual property, AI and data usage, including data for AI development and training.
- Address novel legal questions at the intersection of law and AI where frameworks and precedent are developing.
- Support People team on employment and HR matters globally, working with local counsel as needed.
- Advise on data protection and privacy related to products, commercial relationships and AI development.
- Support strategic initiatives, international expansion and new product deployments from a commercial legal perspective.
- Assist Fleet Operations and other teams with vehicle fleet operation, testing and deployment across international markets.
- Build and improve scalable legal processes, templates, playbooks and governance to support growth.
- Educate and enable stakeholders on commercial risk, contracting best practices and legal processes.

Experience
- Qualified solicitor in England and Wales.
- Approximately 2–4 years post-qualification experience, with openness to more or less.
- Strong experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements including procurement, supply chain, technology and vendor contracts.
- Comfortable negotiating directly with commercial counterparties and communicating legal positions clearly and pragmatically.
- Experience supporting strategic commercial transactions and working closely with business stakeholders in fast-moving, technology-driven environments.
- Experience advising on employment matters affecting a global workforce or willingness to develop in this area.
- Experience partnering cross-functionally and communicating effectively with legal and non-legal experts.
- Strong organisational and prioritisation skills managing multiple workstreams and competing priorities.
- Enthusiastic about handling a broad range of legal matters including novel questions with limited precedent.

About You
- Commercially minded with strong judgement assessing legal risk in the context of business objectives.
- Autonomous, proactive and able to exercise sound judgement on escalation.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, able to distil complex legal issues for non-legal audiences.
- Passionate about autonomy and keen to learn.
- Experience in automotive, mobility or technology sectors, especially OEM, Tier 1 supplier or engineering-led organisations is a plus.
- Experience with OEM, strategic partnership or large-scale B2B transactions involving hardware, software, data or integrated technology solutions is a plus.
- Exposure to AI, data or autonomous vehicle-related legal issues is a plus.
- Cross-border commercial advisory experience across UK, US, Europe and Japan is a plus.
- Experience supporting commercial or employment matters in Germany, including familiarity with German legal and regulatory environment, is a plus.
- Experience automating and scaling legal processes, templates or commercial legal functions is a plus.
- Experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics or AI is valuable but not essential.

Qualifications
- Qualified solicitor in England and Wales.
- Strong foundational commercial legal skills with proven ability to navigate complex legal landscapes in fast-moving environments.