Legal Counsel (UK + Global)
Isembard
Legal
Posted on Mar 17, 2026
Legal Counsel (UK + Global)
Send your CV to talent@isembard.com with the job title of the role you are applying for in the subject line
Legal Counsel
Location: London (with international remit)
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: Competitive
Equity: Benchmarked
Role Overview:
You will architect and execute the legal foundations of a sovereign, multi-jurisdictional manufacturing company operating across defence, aerospace, energy and advanced manufacturing.
You will own the legal infrastructure that enables:
Government, defence and wider industrial contracting
A global franchisor-franchisee factory model
Equity and debt financing across jurisdictions
Export-controlled manufacturing
International expansion (UK, US, Germany, France and beyond)
You will work directly with the CEO and leadership team to design legal systems that scale to dozens, hundreds and eventually thousands of factories. We don’t view legal a cost centre. The best businesses are beautiful in every facet of their being.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead all equity and debt legal work: venture/growth/pre-IPO financings, option schemes (EMI & US equivalents), shareholder agreements, board governance, venture debt, equipment financing and franchisee loan frameworks.
Design and maintain the global corporate structure across UK, US, Germany, France and future markets, including subsidiary setup, cross-border structuring and governance consistency. Structure and negotiate UK MOD, US DoD and allied government contracts, including procurement compliance and flow-down clauses.
Structure and negotiate complex customer contracts (MSAs, framework agreements, long-term supply agreements), with strong IP, liability and risk allocation architecture.
Draft, evolve and enforce scalable franchise agreements (master, conversion, greenfield), including royalties, territory rights, performance standards and exit/buyback mechanisms.
Own regulatory compliance, including US state-level requirements and cross-border enforceability alongside export control, ITAR/EAR and UK/EU export compliance frameworks, including dual-use governance and controlled-data handling systems.
Advise on national security and foreign investment regulations (including NSIA and equivalents) and manage engagement with regulators where required.
Own international employment legal frameworks, equity-linked compensation, consultancy transitions, visas and HR risk management.
Coordinate and manage external counsel globally while building internal legal systems that enable rapid but controlled scale.
Build a team to help accelerate all of the above.
Required Skills
Qualified solicitor (England & Wales) or US attorney (additional EU qualification advantageous).
Experience in venture-backed, regulated or defence-adjacent industries.
Comfortable operating across financing, franchise, export control and cross-border commercial law.
Strong commercial judgment with the ability to balance risk and velocity.
What We Offer:
Ownership of legal architecture enabling global scale
Exposure to defence, export control and cross-border industrial law
Strategic seat at the table during expansion
Equity participation in a scaling industrial business
Opportunity to build long-term governance foundations
About Isembard:
Isembard is on a mission to forge industrial acceleration. We enable faster and cheaper products to be made for critical industries by combining advanced machine tools, robotics and our proprietary software, MasonOS. The components we manufacture are used in aerospace, defence, energy and other strategically important sectors.
Our values:
If not now, when
Follow the five maxims
Humour and humility