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Wayve is building an AI platform for autonomous driving, pioneering an end-to-end AI approach that enables vehicles to learn from real-world experience. The Legal Counsel role sits within the Commercial Legal team, reporting to the Managing Counsel, and will support Wayve's global scaling and real-world deployment of embodied AI technology.
You will be based in London and work 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 legal precedent and market practice are still developing.
Day-to-day responsibilities include:
- Independently managing a broad range of commercial legal matters: drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements (supplier, software/SaaS, services, OEM customer, and Tier 1 supplier contracts)
- Advising on intellectual property, AI, and data usage, including data used for AI development and training
- Working through novel legal questions at the intersection of law and AI, where legal frameworks and market practice are still evolving
- Advising the People team on employment and HR matters for Wayve's global workforce, working with local counsel where needed
- Advising on data protection and privacy, including use and sharing of data in connection with products, commercial relationships, and AI development
- Supporting strategic initiatives, international expansion, and new product deployments from a commercial legal perspective
- Supporting Fleet Operations in connection with vehicle operation, testing, and deployment across international markets
- Building scalable legal processes, templates, playbooks, and governance structures to support growth
- Educating stakeholders on commercial risk, contracting best practices, and legal processes
This is an opportunity for a commercially minded lawyer comfortable at the intersection of law, AI, product innovation, and operational scale. You will exercise judgment in a fast-moving environment, communicate risk clearly, and help the business find solutions rather than simply identifying obstacles.
Requirements:
- Qualified solicitor in England and Wales
- Approximately 2–4 years of relevant post-qualification experience (open to candidates with more or less experience)
- 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
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills; ability to distil complex legal issues into clear explanations of legal and commercial risk for non-legal stakeholders
- Experience supporting strategic commercial transactions and working closely with business stakeholders in fast-moving, technology-driven environments
- Strong commercial judgment, assessing legal risk in context of broader business objectives and providing practical, solutions-oriented advice
- Experience advising on employment matters affecting a global workforce, or willingness to develop this experience
- Ability to operate autonomously on day-to-day matters, take initiative, and exercise sound judgment about escalation
- Experience partnering cross-functionally and communicating effectively with legal and non-legal experts
- Strong organizational and prioritization skills; ability to manage multiple workstreams and competing priorities
- Enthusiasm for tackling a broad range of legal matters, including areas outside existing experience, and comfort with novel questions where precedent may be limited
Plus factors (not required):
- Experience within automotive, mobility, or broader technology sector, particularly at an OEM, Tier 1 supplier, or similarly complex engineering-led organization
- Experience supporting OEM, strategic partnership, or large-scale B2B transactions involving hardware, software, data, or integrated technology solutions
- Exposure to AI, data, or autonomous vehicle-related legal issues
- Cross-border commercial advisory experience across UK, US, Europe, and Japan
- Experience supporting commercial or employment matters in Germany, including familiarity with German legal and regulatory environment
- Experience helping automate and scale legal processes, templates, or commercial legal functions
- Background in autonomous vehicles, robotics, or AI (valuable but not essential)
