Legal Counsel

fonio
Vienna, Austria
On-site

Who this role is best for

Strong fit for in-house legal professionals with tech/SaaS experience who build legal foundations and work autonomously, especially those with Austria or Germany qualifications and a mix of top law firm and startup exposure.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with 4 to 8 years of in-house legal experience at a tech or SaaS company, particularly in commercial contracting and GDPR
    — “Mix of top law firm training and at least 2 years in-house at a tech or SaaS company.”
  • Qualified Austrian or German lawyers who are comfortable working independently and delivering clear, fast answers
    — “Comfortable working alone, prioritising fast and giving clear yes or no answers.”
  • Legal professionals who have previously served as the first legal hire in a scale-up and can handle international legal matters
    — “Has been the first legal hire at a scale-up before.”

Things to consider

  • The role demands direct in-office presence in Vienna despite potential global responsibilities
    — “On-site in Vienna, working directly with the core-team.”
  • The position requires managing external law firms across multiple jurisdictions, including EU, UK, and US
    — “Coordinate external law firms and advisors in every country: selection, briefing, budget, quality.”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize experience in building legal processes and templates from scratch in your resume and interview
    — “You will build Fonio's legal foundations from scratch: templates, processes and the right external law firms.”
  • Highlight your ability to act as a single point of contact for cross-functional teams on legal matters
    — “Go-to person for Sales, Engineering and Ops on any legal question – pragmatic, fast, understandable.”
  • Showcase your fluency in English and ability to communicate legal concepts clearly
    — “Fluent English, written and spoken.”
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · MediumAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Company

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Built Fonio's legal foundations from scratch
  • Managed disputes and litigation
  • Coordinated with external law firms
Typical background
Law degreeExperience in tech or SaaS legal roles

Skills & requirements

Required

Commercial ContractingGDPRDispute ResolutionTrademark And IPData ProtectionLegal Process ManagementCoordination With External Law Firms

Preferred

Experience With AI And TelecomsVenture Funding RoundsM&A

Stack & domain

Legal QuestionsCustomer ContractData Protection QueryNew Hire's ContractDisputes And LitigationTrademarks And IPInternational Corporate LawComplianceExternal Law FirmsData ProtectionGDPRData Processing AgreementsCustomer RequestsVoice DataCommercial ContractingGDPR ExperienceAITelecomsVoice ProductsVenture Funding RoundsM&AEntity Set-up AbroadUK Commercial LawUS Commercial LawCommunicationTeamworkAttention To DetailProfessionalismPragmatismFast-paced EnvironmentLegalContractsDisputesLitigationTrademarksIP

About the role

Original posting from fonio via Ashby

ABOUT FONIO

We grew from $1M to $10M ARR in under 12 months and now serve 10,000+ customers.

Fonio is Europe’s market leader for AI phone agents for SMBs. Now we’re expanding globally and into new products.

We move fast, take ownership, give direct feedback, and avoid politics and unnecessary meetings.

Join one of world´s fastest-growing companies.

THE ROLE

You will be the person everyone goes to with a legal question, and you will answer it quickly and practically. One day that is a customer contract, the next a data protection query, a new hire's contract.

You will build Fonio's legal foundations from scratch: templates, processes and the right external law firms. This is a hands-on role, not a manager of outside counsel.

WHAT TO EXPECT

  • Disputes and litigation: assessment, strategy, steering external counsel
  • Trademarks and IP: file and defend our marks, protect our technology, handle open source and licensing
  • International: corporate law and compliance for our entities in the EU, UK and US, support for new country incorporations
  • Coordinate external law firms and advisors in every country: selection, briefing, budget, quality
  • Data protection together with external experts: GDPR, data processing agreements, customer requests, handling of voice data
  • Go-to person for Sales, Engineering and Ops on any legal question – pragmatic, fast, understandable

WHAT YOU BRING

Must-haves

  • Qualified lawyer (Austria or Germany) with 4 to 8 years' experience.
  • Mix of top law firm training and at least 2 years in-house at a tech or SaaS company.
  • Strong commercial contracting and GDPR experience.
  • Fluent English, written and spoken.
  • Comfortable working alone, prioritising fast and giving clear yes or no answers.

Nice-to-haves

  • Experience with AI, telecoms or voice products.
  • Exposure to venture funding rounds, M&A or entity set-up abroad.
  • Working knowledge of UK or US commercial law.
  • Has been the first legal hire at a scale-up before.

WHAT WE OFFER

  • €65,000 to €100,000 + Equity
  • Relocation support
  • Daily lunch and dinner
  • Equipment of your choice
  • Regular team off-sites
  • On-site in Vienna, working directly with the core-team

HIRING PROCESS

  • 15 min intro call
  • 30 min skill interview
  • 20 min culture fit

Source: fonio careers (Ashby)

Similar roles