Head of Legal - Maternity cover (1.5 years)

Join our team as a Head of Legal - Maternity cover (1.5 years) and help virtualize biological experiments to accelerate discovery!

We're looking for a pragmatic, hands-on legal leader who thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys solving complex business challenges, and isn't afraid of ambiguity. You'll partner closely with our leadership team, investors, and external stakeholders to ensure we scale responsibly while enabling the business to move fast. If you love combining legal expertise with strategic thinking and want to have a real impact on a growing international company, this role is for you.

Responsibilities:

• Leading the legal workstream for the company’s upcoming fundraise, including Due Diligence, term sheet & transaction documents negotiation, closing and execution of post-closing undertakings;
• Overseeing corporate governance matters, including Board matters, cap table-related legal issues, option grants, convertible instruments and statutory filings;
• Managing commercial contract matters (both vendor and customer contracts);
• Leading IP strategy execution aligned with business and product roadmaps;
• Overseeing privacy and compliance matters, including GDPR compliance, risk register maintenance, Board reporting, and escalation of legal requirements to the Leadership Team.
• Providing employment legal support, including employment contracts, ESOP/ASOP matters and employment compliance policies;
• Managing external counsel efficiently, including scoping, instruction, budget control, review of advice and ensuring advice is translated into practical business actions;
• Leading the Legal team, including mentoring, development planning, workload management, quality control, budget management and maintaining clear internal legal processes;
• Acting as a trusted legal partner to internal stakeholders;
• Maintaining continuity of the Legal function during the cover period, including appropriate handover, prioritization of legal workstreams, risk-based decision-making, and preparation of the 2027/2028 Legal Roadmap.

Requirements:

• 10+ years of relevant professional experience (senior level) in the field of law preferably within the European tech/biotech startup environment
• Graduate degree in Law, completed Bar Exam with admission to the Hungarian Bar Association,
• Excellent English skills, both verbal and written (including experience in legal drafting)
• Experience in the EU/Hungarian legal system is a must, UK/US legal system is a plus
• Hands-on experience with Fundraising / M&A transactions
• Knowledge about IP (patents, trade secrets / know-how & licensing)
• Proven track record of managing teams and leading entire Legal function
• Self-starter with strong work ethic and pragmatic problem-solving skills 
• Have the skill to grasp the key commercial and contractual/legal issues quickly and across many concurrent projects
• Experience in internal and external stakeholder interactions 
• Ability to work in fast-paced environment & prioritize
• Willingness to maintain further cost-efficient operations of Turbine’s Legal function
• Excellent drafting, communication and negotiations skills
• Logical thinking and proactive problem-solving attitude

You are a Turbiner if these personality traits apply to you:

• You have self-awareness and strong intention on personal growth
• You seek out feedback and learn from mistakes and apply what you learned
• You take responsibility and focus on the outcomes over tasks
• You focus on shared success and are open to challenging others respectfully to get the best possible outcome
• You are in it for the long haul and have passion for our mission