International Legal Counsel

ABOUT THE TEAM

Anduril’s Legal Team seeks a Legal Counsel-International to support our international government and commercial businesses and deploy the future technology of defense. In this role, you will work on every aspect of Anduril’s business, from helping the business development team drive new government deals, to negotiating hardware, license and services agreements, offset arrangements, and industrial cooperation obligations, to handling intellectual property, compliance, and related matters. This position is based in Cosa Mesa, CA. This role will be part of Anduril’s Deal Team, which supports the full lifecycle of Anduril contracts and includes government contracts lawyers, contract managers, and proposal managers.

This role will directly support Anduril’s Global Defense work in the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions, partnering closely with our International Trade Compliance, Business Development, and Program teams. The Global Defense team aligns against customers and thus works with all of Anduril’s Divisions and products.

ABOUT THE JOB

In this role, you will be responsible for providing legal review and guidance on issues related to proposals, procurement, contracting strategies, and day-to-day program execution for the applicable Anduril Division in partnership with the Global Defense team. You will have a robust understanding of international government contracting, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), and hybrid FMS/DCS structures as well data rights, and software contracting in a cross-border context. Familiarity with U.S. government contracts law, the FAR, and DFARS is valuable as a foundation, but the primary focus of this role is international commercial and government contracting. This role will partner closely with Anduril's International Trade Compliance team on export licensing strategy, customers, outside counsel, and business partners across the organization to support business development and legal operations.

Anduril is a fast-growing company at the early stages of growth. Consistent with this fast growth, members of Anduril’s Legal Team must be resourceful, creative, and eager to take ownership of complex matters. The Legal Counsel-International role will require creativity and resourcefulness to navigate complex procurement and compliance rules, with a singular focus on helping Anduril deploy its path-making technology into operational settings for the United States’ allies. In addition to helping capture and execute new government deals, you will work on all other aspects of Anduril’s business, from negotiating license, hardware and services agreements, to bid protests and litigation, to handling intellectual property, and compliance matters. Experience across all of these areas is not expected, but a willingness to learn and adapt is.

The Legal Counsel-International will be expected to take responsibility for significant, material projects, which will have a significant impacts across the company. Our team is passionate about the law and policy of defense technology and software contracting and you should have an independent interest in the key issues in this field. Anduril fosters a collaborative culture with tremendous opportunities for ownership and professional growth.

The Legal Counsel-International will be expected to travel, on average, 1 week each month, including international travel to APAC and Americas customer sites. This position requires flexibility to support calls with Anduril’s international employees and customers outside standard business hours when not traveling.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Be a key member of Anduril’s small, dynamic Legal Team.
• Drive customer growth by executing new international contracts and growing existing ones. Use your expertise in international defense trade, FMS, and DCS to help the Business Development, Proposal, and Engineering teams efficiently capture new contracts, grow existing contracts, and set up follow-on opportunities for future contracts. Assist in the strategy development for new business in the Asia-Pacific and Americas regions.
• Manage relationships with procurement, contracting, and legal counterparts at foreign government ministries of defense, allied procurement agencies. High-trust professional relationships with foreign government and U.S Government contracting and procurement offices are critical to Anduril’s continued success, and you will be called upon to develop and foster these relationships throughout your tenure.
• Provide legal counsel and day-to-day management of the entire acquisitions lifecycle. Oversee and evaluate major proposals, monitor large contracts, lead or assist in key negotiations, resolve performance issues, identify risks and mitigations, and ensure compliance with laws, regulations, and policies.
• Work on all legal aspects of Anduril’s international business, from negotiating license, hardware and services agreements, offset arrangements, to advising on intellectual property, data rights, and general compliance matters. You will collaborate with Anduril's International Trade Compliance team to ensure deal structures align with ITAR, EAR, and sanctions requirements, and will partner with employment and litigation counsel on matters incident to international operations. You will represent the legal team in relationships with outside counsel, vendors, engineers, executives, customers, and regulators.
• Develop software, hardware, and services contracting approaches for delivering cutting-edge technology to the foreign Government customer in the Asia-Pacific and Americas, and negotiate those agreements with foreign ministries, allied primes, and (where applicable) with U.S. contracting officers and program counsel on FMS-related matters. Structure and negotiate international commercial terms including governing law, arbitration (ICC, SIAC, HKIAC), sovereign immunity waivers, payment security (letters of credit, sovereign guarantees, advance payment structures), and Incoterms.
• Partner with Business Development and program teams to structure and negotiate offset and industrial cooperation obligations in markets that mandate them (e.g., Korea, Taiwan for cross-regional support), including performance metrics, banking, multipliers, and penalty caps.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 3+ years of work on international government contracts, defense trade, or U.S. government contracts matters, preferably with a law firm, defense industry, or the government (more senior lawyers are also encouraged to apply, the position may be adjusted based on experience)
• An understanding of international defense contracting, particularly FMS and DCS, or hybrid structure contract vehicles, software acquisition approaches, and data rights
• The judgment and initiative required to make risk-adjusted decisions for the company and own multiple projects from end-to-end, whether guiding the Business Development team through the lifecycle of a deal or handling unexpected legal issues that may arise in defense or start-up companies
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Quick learner and able to contribute to the broader start-up legal function, including topics that may be completely new to you: everything from IP and litigation to financing, securities, compliance, and employment law, depending on the needs of the day
• Licensed to practice law in CA
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Pre-law school professional experience (e.g., military or government)
• Experience with international commercial contracting and negotiations, including international arbitration clauses, sovereign immunity waivers, letters of credit/sovereign payment instruments, and Incoterms.
• Combination of law-firm and in-house or government experience
• Experience working with foreign government customers, particularly in Asia-Pacific (eg. Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, Philippines, Singapore) or the Americas (eg. Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico).
• Familiarity with regional defense frameworks and sensitivities.
• Regional language capability (Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, or Portuguese)
• Experience with international teaming, agent/representative, or reseller structures, including FCPA-compliant onboarding and due diligence
• Experience with engineering, software, or other technology
• An interest in the law and policy of defense acquisitions with opinions about what is right or wrong in the field and how to fix it
• The ability and grit to operate independently within a rapidly evolving company