(Senior) Legal Counsel - Investment Products

You are part of the legal infrastructure that powers Upvest's Investment API. You bring a granular understanding of the capital markets lifecycle and use it to build a scalable, cross-border legal framework that keeps pace with a fast-moving product. Your mission is to enable Upvest's internationalisation by closing the gap between rigid financial regulation and flexible, API-driven product design. Working within a high-performing legal team, you will help ensure that as Upvest expands across the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, the product remains legally robust, commercially competitive, and technically precise.

Responsibilities

• Be the legal authority on the lifecycle of financial instruments
• Partner directly with Product and Engineering to co-design features from fractional trading to new asset classes
• Translate MiFID II/III and WpIG into concrete technical requirements so compliance is built in from the first line of code
• Own the legal adaptation of Upvest's core German investment offering as it expands into the UK, Switzerland, and the wider EEA
• Define jurisdiction-specific requirements while preserving a coherent, scalable product framework across markets
• Serve as the internal expert on EU and German financial regulation
• Monitor and interpret regulatory developments across MiFID, WpIG, WpHG, and MaRisk
• Translate regulatory implications into actionable guidance for Product, Operations, and Compliance
• Lead and support the negotiation of complex B2B agreements with institutional counterparties
• Drive the modernisation of Upvest's legal function
• Champion the adoption of contract lifecycle management tools and AI-assisted review workflows
• Act as a trusted adviser to Product, Engineering, Operations, and Compliance

Requirements

• At least 3–5 years post-qualification experience (PQE) in the financial services industry
• At least one German legal qualification (Erste Juristische Prüfung)
• Hands-on understanding of lifecycles across a variety of investment products (stocks, investment funds, bonds, derivatives)
• Experience in a regulated investment firm, fintech, infrastructure provider, or bank with a brokerage and custody product offering
• Strong command of EU and German financial law (MiFID, WpIG, WpHG)
• Exposure to UK (FCA) regulation or other European NCAs is a strong plus
• Familiarity with adapting core legal frameworks to new European markets and regulatory regimes
• Enthusiasm for streamlining the legal function through technology
• Professional fluency in English and German

Benefits

• 30 days of annual leave
• Sports benefits
• Confidential professional coaching
• Flexibility to work remotely abroad for up to 183 days a year
• One-month fully paid sabbatical after every 4 years of working at Upvest
• Personal development budget
• Flexible work environment across hubs in Berlin, London or Tallinn
• Competitive salary and employee equity program
• Company-wide events, dinners, offsites and Holiday party