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 commercial and government contracting, including cross-border software, hardware, data rights, and services agreements, and be comfortable owning terms and conditions (T&Cs) redlines and negotiations end-to-end. Familiarity with Direct Commercial Sales (DCS), Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and hybrid FMS/DCS structures is valued, but the primary focus of this role is international commercial transactional work. A working knowledge of U.S. government contracts, the FAR, and DFARS is a useful foundation.

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 commercial contracting and defense trade (DCS, and where relevant FMS/hybrid structures) 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. Own the review, redlining, and negotiation of international terms and conditions — master agreements, purchase order T&Cs, license, hardware, and services agreements — balancing speed with risk, and building reusable playbooks and fallback positions the Legal and BD teams can scale. 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 any 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 commercial contracting and/or international government/defense contracts, defense trade, or U.S. government contracts matters, preferably with a law firm, defense industry, or the government. Foreign defense sales experience is a strong preference; we will also consider candidates with strong non-defense international commercial contracting and negotiation experience. More senior lawyers are also encouraged to apply, the position may be adjusted based on experience.
• Demonstrated ability to structure and negotiate cross-border commercial agreements — including governing law, dispute resolution/arbitration, payment security, and Incoterms — and familiarity with international defense contracting structures (DCS, and ideally FMS/hybrid 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 OR eligible to register as in-house counsel under California Rules of Court, Rule 9.46 (available to attorneys licensed and in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction).
• Location: This role is based in our Southern California office — Costa Mesa. Anduril Legal is an in-office team; this is not a hybrid or remote position.
• U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working with foreign government customers, particularly in Asia-Pacific (e.g. Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia, Philippines, Singapore) or the Americas (e.g. 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.
• Direct experience with foreign defense sales (DCS and/or FMS) — a strong plus, though not required for candidates with deep international commercial contracting backgrounds.
• 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 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