Legal & IP Counsel

ABOUT ALTA ARES Alta Ares is an air defense Neoprime. We build AI-guided interceptors to counter drones and cruise missiles, along with the software platform that powers them. Our customers are NATO-aligned militaries and defense institutions, and our systems are regularly deployed during live exercises and operational demonstrations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Founded in 2024, we have grown to 90 people, raised over $60M, and increased revenue 40× this year. We are now entering a new phase of international expansion, industrial scaling, fundraising, and product development. ROLE & MISSION As Legal & IP Counsel, you will be Alta Ares' first dedicated in-house legal hire responsible for building and managing the company's legal function across three core pillars: intellectual property, commercial contracts, and corporate law. You will work directly with the CEO and COO on the legal dimensions of Alta Ares' most consequential decisions: protecting the IP that underpins our technology, structuring commercial agreements with defence clients and institutional partners, and ensuring the company's corporate and regulatory foundations are solid as we scale internationally. This is a builder role. You will establish processes, templates, and legal infrastructure from scratch in a fast-moving environment where precision, speed, and discretion are non-negotiable. You will work across multiple jurisdictions (France, UK, US, Ukraine) and across a highly sensitive sector where legal rigour directly impacts national security. 1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY - Own Alta Ares' IP strategy and portfolio: patents, trade secrets, software copyrights, and know-how protection across all product lines (ISR, C-UAS, MLOps, HSI) - Lead patent filing processes in coordination with external patent attorneys: drafting invention disclosures, managing prosecution, and maintaining the patent portfolio - Define and enforce IP protection policies internally: employee IP assignment, contractor IP clauses, and open-source usage governance - Conduct IP due diligence on partnerships, licensing arrangements, and potential acquisitions - Monitor the competitive IP landscape and flag freedom-to-operate risks proactively - Advise Engineering and Product teams on IP-sensitive design decisions and open-source compliance 2. COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS & DEFENCE AGREEMENTS - Draft, review, and negotiate all commercial agreements: customer contracts, MOUs, teaming agreements, NDAs, subcontracting arrangements, and licensing agreements - Own the contract management lifecycle: template creation, negotiation support, execution tracking, and renewals - Advise on the legal specificities of defence procurement contracts across multiple jurisdictions: French DGA, NATO, EU institutions, UK MOD, and US DoD frameworks - Review and negotiate grant agreements under EU defence funding mechanisms: EDF, EUDIS, Horizon Europe - Manage and mitigate contractual risk in multi-party, multi-jurisdiction arrangements - Build and maintain a library of standardised contract templates adapted to Alta Ares' commercial contexts 3. CORPORATE LAW & REGULATORY COMPLIANCE - Support the legal structuring and maintenance of Alta Ares' multi-entity corporate architecture: France (SAS), UK (Ltd), US (Inc.), Ukraine, and any future entities - Advise on corporate governance matters: board resolutions, shareholder agreements, equity plan (BSPCE) documentation, and cap table management in coordination with Finance - Manage regulatory compliance across applicable frameworks: RGPD/GDPR, French corporate law, and sector-specific defence regulations - Support export control compliance across applicable regimes: French AECA / CIEEMG, ITAR, EAR, and dual-use regulation in coordination with the RSSI and Sales teams - Assist in fundraising processes: term sheet review, investor documentation, and legal due diligence responses - Liaise with external counsel across jurisdictions and manage external legal spend efficiently 4. LEGAL ADVISORY & INTERNAL COUNSEL - Serve as the go-to legal advisor for all teams: Sales, Engineering, HR, Finance, and Operations - Provide rapid, practical legal guidance on day-to-day questions balancing legal rigour with business pragmatism - Flag and escalate legal risks proactively to the CEO and COO - Maintain organised legal documentation and contract registers in Notion - Contribute to the development of internal policies with legal dimensions: data protection, security, and compliance frameworks CANDIDATE PROFILE EXPERIENCE - 3 years of experience in law combining in-house counsel experience and/or private practice in a top-tier firm - Strong background in at least two of: intellectual property law, commercial contracts, corporate law - Exposure to technology, deeptech, defence, aerospace, or dual-use sectors is a strong plus - Experience working with or within a startup or scale-up is a significant advantage: you understand the pace and constraints of a lean legal function - Prior exposure to multi-jurisdictional legal environments (France + UK or US) is valued - Familiarity with French corporate law (SAS governance, BSPCE, equity documentation) is a plus SKILLS & QUALITIES - French fluency is mandatory: primary legal and corporate jurisdiction is France - English fluency is mandatory: commercial agreements, international partnerships, and investor documentation are predominantly in English - Rigorous and detail-oriented, you catch what others miss and never cut corners on substance - Pragmatic and business-minded: you give clear, actionable legal advice, not just risk catalogues - Fast and responsive in a defence startup, legal bottlenecks have operational consequences - Proactive: you anticipate legal issues before they become problems - Discreet and trustworthy you handle the company's most sensitive commercial, financial, and strategic information - Comfortable operating as a generalist in a lean environment where scope is broad and resources are limited