Legal Counsel – Investment Operations

About the role

As (Senior) Legal Counsel – Investment Operations, you are part of the legal infrastructure that keeps Upvest's post-trade engine running. You bring a granular understanding of clearing, settlement, and custody — and you use it to ensure that every transaction Upvest processes is legally sound, operationally resilient, and regulatorily defensible at scale.

What you'll do

• Be the legal authority on Upvest's post-execution infrastructure. Advise on the legal framework governing clearing, settlement, and custody operations, ensuring our processes remain compliant with applicable regulation at every step of the transaction lifecycle.
• Own the legal framework around client asset protection and safekeeping obligations. Ensure Upvest's custody arrangements, including sub-custodian relationships, are structured, documented, and monitored to the highest regulatory standard.
• Lead the negotiation and ongoing management of agreements with CCPs, CSDs, custodians, and other post-trade infrastructure providers. Maintain a contractual framework that is robust, scalable, and commercially sound.
• Serve as the internal expert on post-trade regulation across EU and German law. Monitor and interpret developments across MiFID, WpDVerOV, CSDR, and MaRisk, and translate their implications into actionable guidance for Operations, Compliance, and Finance.
• Partner with Operations and Compliance to assess and respond to post-trade incidents, settlement failures, and operational risk events from a legal perspective.
• Drive the modernisation of Upvest's legal function. Champion scalable contracting processes, AI-assisted review workflows, and documentation standards that keep pace with operational growth.

What you'll need

• At least 3–5 years post-qualification experience in the financial services industry. At least one German legal qualification (Erste Juristische Prüfung).
• Hands-on understanding of clearing, settlement, and custody mechanics across a range of investment products — at the level of a seasoned practitioner who has worked directly with CCPs, CSDs, or custodians.
• Experience in a regulated investment firm, custodian bank, CSD, infrastructure provider, or fintech with a meaningful post-trade operating footprint.
• Strong command of EU and German financial law relevant to post-trade operations (MiFID, CSDR, WpDVerOV, MaRisk).
• Professional fluency in English and German.

Nice to have

• Exposure to UK (FCA) regulation or other European NCAs.
• Familiarity with adapting legal frameworks across European markets, particularly where post-trade infrastructure and regulation diverges by jurisdiction.

What they offer

• 30 days of annual leave and sports benefits.
• Professional coaching and flexibility to work remotely abroad for up to 183 days per year.
• UpRest: one-month fully paid sabbatical after every 4 years.
• Personal development budget.
• Hybrid work across Berlin, London, or Tallinn.
• Competitive, above-market salary and employee equity program.