Senior Legal Counsel (IRIS2)

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• Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: With colleagues from over 75 countries, we embrace our global DNA and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace. We are proud that one-third of our executive team and 60% of our board are represented by women.
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Job Overview

This Senior Legal Counsel role will work as a crucial part of Eutelsat's Legal Team on the delivery of the Iris2 project. It will have a critical role to play in the negotiation, drafting and ongoing monitoring of a wide variety of elements of the project and will be an integral part of the overall Iris2 project. This role requires demonstrable experience leading significant negotiations as lead lawyer

What You'll Do:

Legal advisory and business partnering

• Act as a legal lead and trusted adviser to the Iris2 project team building strong working relationships at all levels of the project team.
• Lead the drafting, review, and negotiation of complex and high-value contracts in the Procurement and Engineering space, including launch vehicle agreements, satellite manufacturing contracts, ground infrastructure contracts, supplier framework agreements, and technology licensing arrangements. Experience in significant negotiations and drafting as the lead lawyer is crucial for this role.
• Provide proactive, commercially-focused legal advice that identifies and manages legal risk while enabling the business to achieve its strategic and operational objectives under the Iris2 project. Legal advice will be delivered in commercial terms — not as a list of risks but as a framework for decisions.
• Collaborate with the wider Eutelsat Legal team on adjacent matters that may impact on the Iris2 project.
• Support the Legal Director - Projects and Legal Director - Procurement and Engineering on all aspects of the Iris2 project.

Team leadership and oversight

• Assist with the oversight of the work of more junior Legal team members undertaking Iris2 matters, providing guidance, quality assurance, and support as required.
• Working with the Legal Director - Projects and Legal Director - Procurement and Engineering on matter allocation and prioritisation.
• Acting as a role model for the values, standards, and culture of the Legal function.

Contribution to the Legal function

• Participate actively to the development of the wider Legal team's function's strategy, processes, and culture. Share knowledge and expertise with colleagues across the team. Champion the Legal function's standards and reputation with internal stakeholders.

What success looks like in this role

Within three months: Trusted adviser relationships established with key stakeholders in Iris2 project team; full understanding of the current matter portfolio and deliverables; active engagement on contractual negotiations and drafting.

Within six months: Demonstrable impact on the Iris2 project; taking independent lead role on negotiations with counterparties; complete understanding of the entire legal structure of the Iris2 project beyond individual contractual portions.

Within twelve months: Recognised internally as a key legal expert for Iris2, with ownership of a defined contract category or counterparty relationship ; providing structured support and mentoring to junior Legal team members working on Iris2 matters; measurable improvement in legal risk identification and management across both the Procurement and Engineering functions, evidenced by reduced escalations, faster turnaround on standard contract types, or improved consistency in risk-flagging.

What You'll Need:

Experience & Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer (France or Italy), with a minimum of circa 6–8+ years PQE
• Demonstrable experience leading, drafting, and negotiating complex, high-value commercial contracts as lead lawyer — ideally including launch services, satellite manufacturing, technology licensing, or major infrastructure/supplier agreements
• Prior experience in the space, satellite, aerospace/defence, or a comparably regulated and technically complex sector strongly preferred
• Track record of advising at pace on live, high-profile, multi-stakeholder programmes
• Some experience supervising, reviewing, or mentoring more junior lawyers

Skills & Attributes

• Excellent negotiation skills with the confidence and gravitas to lead directly against sophisticated counterparties
• Strong commercial judgement — able to translate legal risk into a decision-making framework for non-legal stakeholders, not just a list of issues
• Excellent drafting skills across a broad range of contract types
• Able to operate autonomously with minimal supervision while keeping senior stakeholders appropriately informed
• Strong relationship-building skills across a multi-jurisdictional, matrixed organisation
• Comfortable managing competing priorities across multiple concurrent, high-value negotiations

Desirable

• French language skills
• Familiarity with EU space law, ITU/Ofcom/FCC spectrum frameworks, or EU public procurement rules
• Eligibility for any nationality, clearance, or export-control requirements relevant to the Iris2 programme

Where You'll Be: Paris, France, or Turin, Italy