Senior Legal Counsel Regulatory

Job Overview

DeepL Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

DeepL is a global communications platform powered by Language AI. Since 2017, we’ve been on a mission to break down language barriers. Our human‑sounding translations and intelligent writing suggestions are designed with enterprise security in mind. Today, they enable over 100,000 businesses to transform communications, reach new markets, and improve productivity, and they empower millions of individuals worldwide to make sense of the world and express their ideas.

Our goal is to become the global leader in Language AI, building products that drive better communication, foster connections, and make a real‑life impact.

Responsibilities

• Provide proactive, strategic legal advice to advance DeepL’s innovation while managing risk and maintaining compliance with global standards.
• Global Strategic Privacy & Regulatory Guidance: Deliver comprehensive legal advice on regulatory affairs, including digital strategy of the EU, data protection and regulatory requirements applicable to DeepL’s AI services.
• Product Partnership: Collaborate directly with Product, Engineering and Commercial teams to embed compliance into cutting‑edge AI products and features.
• Regulatory Foresight: Monitor, interpret and advise on new and changing legislation, assessing the potential impact on DeepL and supporting the business in implementing new legal requirements effectively.
• Strategy & Training: Contribute to DeepL’s long‑term regulatory and data protection strategy, update internal policies, and conduct necessary legal training for internal teams.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified lawyer within your jurisdiction (e.g., German or UK qualified).
• 5+ years of demonstrable experience practicing law with a focus on regulatory compliance and/or data protection and privacy topics, preferably in‑house in a tech or scale‑up environment.
• Significant experience with other key regulatory domains (e.g., AI regulation, copyright laws, cyber‑security laws, consumer protection laws).
• Proven ability to partner with cross‑functional teams and translate complex legal requirements into clear, actionable guidance for non‑legal business stakeholders.
• Business‑oriented thinking with a proactive, solution‑oriented way of working and effective management of multiple projects in a global, fast‑growing company.
• Willingness to work in a highly demanding, fast‑changing environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Benefits

• Diverse and internationally distributed team; over 90 nationalities.
• Open communication, regular feedback and a culture that values empathy and growth mindset.
• Hybrid work with flexible hours and trust in productivity; team collaboration across time zones.
• Virtual Shares: every employee receives virtual shares linking contribution to DeepL’s growth.
• Regular in‑person team events, local and company‑wide gatherings, onboarding, etc.
• Monthly full‑day hacking sessions (Hack Fridays) to work on passion projects and cross‑team collaboration.
• 30 days of annual leave (excluding public holidays) and access to mental health resources.
• Competitive benefits tailored to location to ensure support every step of the way.

Equal Opportunity Employer

You are welcome at DeepL for who you are—we appreciate authenticity here. Our product is for everyone, and so is our workplace. The more voices we have represented and amplified in our business, the more we will all succeed, contribute, and think forward. So bring us your personal experience, perspectives, and background. It’s in our diversity that we will find the power to break down language barriers in the world.