What are the responsibilities and job description for the US Head of Legal position at Arqit?
US Head of Legal - Washington, D.C.
Arqit is a cyber security company. It supplies a unique Platform-as-a-Service which makes the communications and data of any networked device secure against current and future forms of attack – even from a quantum computer. It uses a novel protocol invented by Arqit which delivers symmetric key agreement at mass market scale.
Arqit’s product, QuantumCloud™ was launched in July 2021. It enables any device to download a lightweight software agent, which can create encryption keys in partnership with any other device. The keys are computationally secure, one-time use and zero trust. QuantumCloud™ can create limitless volumes of keys in limitless group sizes and are used within existing globally standardized software. The addressable market for QuantumCloud™ is every connected device.
Our technology is transformational, years ahead of rivals and solves the biggest problem in tech today. We are on a journey to hyperscale. Arqit trades on Nasdaq as “ARQQ”. Arqit has brought together a world-leading team of pioneers in engineering and cryptography, and our legal team must now grow in size and geographical spread to support the business’ expansion into new territories.
Our Legal Team is scaling
The US Head of Legal role is our first step in expanding our legal team outside of the UK. The role reports to the General Counsel and, in the future, will be responsible for building a dedicated legal function for the Americas.
Today, the business needs expert in-house and external council to help us navigate through the opportunities and risks of partnering with Federal and DoD customers, enterprise partners and technical hiring.
In addition to knowledge and experience of working with defence and government entities, Arqit’s SPAC combination and subsequent listing in 2021 means that we also need a US Head of Legal who understands our reporting cycles and the expectations of the SEC.
Internally, it’s important that the US Head of Legal is visible and approachable to anyone across the organisation. We expect the US Head of Legal to embody our ethical and moral values, and to help functional leads proactively manage and mitigate risk.
What you'll be doing
The Head of Legal is the trusted advisor to the General Counsel, and the senior operational and sales leaders. The role aims to support the teams in setting solid foundations for our engagement with third parties in every area of the business, maintaining the integrity of our intellectual property.
What we're looking for
- JD with appropriate qualifications/licensing to practice in-house in Virginia and D.C.
- Proven experience of working for a US public company essential, with knowledge of SEC regulations and operations
- Experience of in-house corporate governance issues, corporate secretarial matters and statutory filings
- US litigation experience essential
- Understanding of intellectual property matters
- High degree of professional ethics and integrity
- Strong negotiation skills
- High attention to detail, analytical skills and the ability to make sound judgments
- First class interpersonal and communication skills
- US citizen
- Experience in dealing with US DoD strongly preferred