German Commercial Counsel

Elastic Elastic · Enterprise · Munich, Germany · Legal - Commercial

Commercial Counsel with 4+ years of experience in negotiating and structuring commercial contracts, including Cloud/SaaS, Professional Services, and Data Processing Agreements, with a focus on GDPR compliance. The role supports Sales and Partner organizations in Central Europe and involves reviewing ITT/RFP requirements, advising on terms, and collaborating with legal, finance, and compliance teams. The position also requires staying updated on legal and regulatory developments and improving legal department workflows, including leveraging AI tools.

What you'd actually do

  1. Primarily responsible negotiating and structuring a wide variety of commercial contracts (including Cloud/SaaS and Software Subscription agreements, Professional Services agreements, Data Processing Agreements and associated schedules ensuring compliance with the GDPR), in support of our Sales and Partner organizations in the Central Region (Austria, Germany and Switzerland).
  2. Support the Sales & RFP teams during procurement processes, reviewing ITT/RFP requirements, drafting legal responses, and advising on proposed terms and conditions.
  3. Engage closely with Elastic’s Central Region Legal lead based in Munich, Germany, the wider Legal Department spread across the USA, EMEA and APJ and Elastic’s go-to-market stakeholders e.g. finance and compliance organization.
  4. Supporting EMEA & Global Legal team members on ad hoc projects – as directed.
  5. Keeping abreast of relevant legal and regulatory developments and proactively advising key stakeholders on their implications.
  6. Help to build and strengthen workflow processes between the Legal Department and other departments within Elastic to enable dealmaking and compliance initiatives. This includes leaning into AI tools and automation opportunities.

Skills

Required

  • Qualified and legally permitted to practice law in Germany
  • 4+ years’ experience in the drafting and negotiation of technology contracts (including Cloud/SaaS and Software Subscription agreements, Professional Services agreements, Data Processing Agreements)
  • Strong working knowledge of contract law
  • understanding of cyber and information security obligations in technology contracts
  • ability to engage credibly with technical and security teams
  • Experience & knowledge of relevant laws and legal systems in Austria, Germany and Switzerland
  • ability to balance legal risks with business strategy

Nice to have

  • experience both in-house or at a major national or international law firm
  • independently running your own time in a demanding, fast-paced environment
  • handle ambiguity and rapidly shifting priorities with flexibility, patience, and humour
  • complex software licensing and cloud business models and related legal issues
  • data protection and privacy issues and concerns in the context of technology transactions
  • representing high-growth companies
  • collaborate and function well in a distributed team environment
  • participate in some limited travel requirements
  • Written and spoken German
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills

What the JD emphasized

  • ensuring compliance with the GDPR
  • compliance with the GDPR