Assistant General Counsel – Product and Regulatory Legal (EU)

Kraken

2d•Remote

About The Position

Payward is hiring a senior product-facing lawyer for the European Union to join Kraken’s Product and Regulatory Legal team. Embedded with Product, Design and Engineering, this role provides commercially accountable legal advice that supports the development and operation of products and licensed entities. The lawyer will advise European leadership on new products, licensing structure and regulatory strategy, including how products and services are classified and regulated when they span multiple financial services regimes. Reporting to the Head of Product Legal, the role owns cross-functional legal counselling for EU product launches from discovery through design, launch and iteration. It covers regulatory perimeter and classification across investment services, crypto-assets, payments, electronic money, banking and related areas, as well as AML/CTF, market conduct, outsourcing and operational resilience. The role also leads or oversees licensing and authorisation work, regulator interactions, outside counsel engagements, client-facing terms and conditions, and the development of junior lawyers. It uses AI-assisted tools to improve legal analysis and service delivery.

Requirements

Qualified lawyer admitted in Ireland, England and Wales, or another European Union Member State.
At least 15 years of post-qualification experience in financial services regulatory law, at a regulated financial services institution or leading law firm supporting such clients; in-house or direct product counselling experience is ideal.
Deep, current knowledge of several relevant areas, with real depth in at least two: MiFID II/MiFIR, MiCA, EU payment services and electronic money regulation, and EU banking regulation.
Demonstrated ability to assess novel products against overlapping regulatory regimes and clearly advise on classification and perimeter, including unsettled areas.
Direct experience managing senior regulator relationships, including notifications, information requests, supervisory correspondence and examinations.
Working knowledge of AML/CTF, outsourcing and operational resilience obligations, including DORA.
Ability to instruct, supervise and manage the cost of outside counsel across multiple jurisdictions.
Outstanding analytical, drafting and organisational skills, including crisp plain-English writing.
Ability to distill complex legal and regulatory issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyers and senior leadership.
Pragmatic, commercially accountable approach to legal and regulatory risk, including providing options and a clear recommendation.
Experience mentoring or managing lawyers and sound judgement about when to escalate.
Comfort operating autonomously in a fast-moving, remote environment.
Familiarity with AI tools such as Enterprise GPTs to increase the efficiency of legal services.

Nice To Haves

Experience advising on tokenised securities and the EU Distributed Ledger Technology Pilot Regime.
Experience with EMIR, including the clearing obligation, margin for non-centrally cleared derivatives and transaction reporting.
Experience with prime brokerage, securities financing, margin lending or institutional custody.
Experience advising on the UK cryptoasset regime or other non-EU frameworks intersecting with EU operations.
Experience supporting regulatory aspects of corporate transactions, such as change-of-control notifications and entity migrations.
Experience with EU data protection and consumer protection rules as they apply to financial products.
Fluency in a second European language.
Authentic interest in crypto and digital assets, and familiarity with Payward's and competitors' products.

Responsibilities

Act as a senior legal adviser to European leadership on new products, licensing structure and regulatory strategy.
Own cross-functional product counselling for European Union launches from discovery through design, launch and iteration, providing decision-ready advice with options and risk trade-offs.
Advise on regulatory perimeter and classification of offerings across MiFID II, MiFIR, MiCA, EMIR, payment services and electronic money rules, and banking regulation.
Advise on payment and electronic money offerings, including the Krak card and account propositions, safeguarding, open banking, account-access obligations, and the developing PSD3 and Payment Services Regulation framework.
Advise on EU banking-related questions, including bank partnerships, sponsor-bank arrangements, deposit-taking and lending perimeter questions, CRR/CRD, and interactions with custody, prime brokerage and financing products.
Monitor and interpret EU legislative and supervisory developments, participate in consultations and industry association work where appropriate, and proactively explain implications to the business.
Draft and negotiate client-facing terms and conditions, taking clear positions aligned with business needs.
Scope, estimate, manage and approve EU outside counsel engagements and costs before matters are sent externally.
Mentor and develop junior lawyers, set standards for plain-English, risk-based advice, and serve as a senior sounding board for Regulatory Legal colleagues.
Use AI-assisted tools, such as Enterprise GPTs, to accelerate regulatory analysis, first drafts and matter tracking, and build self-service tools for common legal and regulatory questions.
Advise on product-related AML/CTF requirements, including the Transfer of Funds Regulation and the EU AML package, and on market abuse, conduct, outsourcing and operational resilience requirements, including DORA.
Lead or oversee EU licensing, authorisation and variation workstreams, including scoping requirements, mapping pathways, supervising outside counsel, preparing application materials and managing regulator interactions.