Lead Employment Counsel

Camunda is the enterprise platform for agentic orchestration , enabling organizations to coordinate AI agents, people, and systems across complex, end-to-end business processes. With built-in governance, auditability, and human oversight, Camunda gives enterprises the control they need to move AI from pilots to production — safely and at scale. Trusted by over 700 organizations worldwide , including 9 of top 10 US banks, Camunda helps enterprises boost operational efficiency, accelerate time-to-value, and deliver better customer experiences. Fully remote and global, we are in the middle of something bigger: transforming into an AI-first organisation, built on our own platform . We use Agentic AI to automate, orchestrate intelligent processes, and elevate human contribution across every team. Named GP Bullhound’s Top 100 Next Unicorn list, 2025 Great Place to Work certified. Visionary in 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Business Orchestration and Automation Technologies. ranked 3rd in Flexa's 2026 Most Flexible Companies , We’re growing fast and looking for top talent to join our team. If you want meaningful work, visible impact and put something genuinely rare on your CV, keep reading. About the Role: We are hiring a Senior Employment Counsel to be the first line of legal support for our People team. This person will advise directly on employment matters, manage our key legal and HR vendor relationships, and reduce our reliance on outside counsel. This is a hands-on, embedded role for an attorney who wants to operate as a trusted business partner, not a gatekeeper. What you'll be doing: Key Responsibilities Serve as the first line of support for employment legal questions, resolving most matters directly rather than routing them to outside counsel. Partner with each People Business Partner to advise on employee relations, performance management, terminations, leaves, and accommodations. Manage severe employee relations cases directly. Own the Remote.com relationship, including contract terms, service levels, escalations, and ongoing performance. Own the external legal counsel relationship, including a clear evaluation of scope, spend, and who we engage with Partner with Legal and Finance on cross-functional projects involving employment law, compliance, or spend. Ensure compliance with employment law across every jurisdiction where Camunda operates, with particular depth in the DACH region. Find opportunities to reduce risk or balance risk with business value. Identify and adopt AI tools that make legal support to the People team faster and more effective. Track and reduce external counsel spend against a clear baseline. What you bring: J.D. or equivalent law degree, with active bar admission in at least one jurisdiction. 8+ years of employment law experience, including significant in-house experience at a global, multi-jurisdiction company. Deep, current knowledge of DACH employment law (works councils, termination protections, co-determination), plus broad experience across other global jurisdictions. Experience managing outside counsel and HR vendor relationships, including EOR platforms such as Remote or similar. A track record of advising HR and People teams directly, and translating legal risk into practical, business-pragmatic guidance. Strong judgment and comfort making autonomous calls without escalating every matter to outside counsel. Experience using AI tools to improve legal or compliance workflows. Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to build trust across People, Legal, and Finance. This role is an existing vacancy #LI-JS1 #LI-Remote #C1 What We Have to Offer: Compensation We offer competitive, fair, and transparent compensation. Salary ranges are location-based, with Standard and Major markets (global tech hubs) reflecting local competition. The Annual Total Target Cash (base salary + 100% variable target, where applicable) sho