German Commercial Counsel

## Responsibilities - 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. - Supporting the Sales & RFP teams during procurement processes, reviewing ITT/RFP requirements, drafting legal responses, and advising on proposed terms and conditions. - Engaging 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. - Supporting EMEA & Global Legal team members on ad hoc projects – as directed. - Keeping abreast of relevant legal and regulatory developments and proactively advising key stakeholders on their implications. - Helping 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. ## Requirements - Qualified and legally permitted to practice law in Germany with 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, together with an understanding of cyber and information security obligations in technology contracts, and the ability to engage credibly with technical and security teams. - Experience and knowledge of relevant laws and legal systems in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. - Ability to balance legal risks with business strategy. - Candidates who have experience both in-house or at a major national or international law firm are preferred. - Ability to thrive in a demanding, fast-paced environment, handle ambiguity and rapidly shifting priorities with flexibility, patience, and humour. ## Nice to Have - A self-starter by nature with a proven track history to balance multiple projects and recalibrate advice in view of shifting priorities, legal developments, and risk tolerance. - Experience with, or at least a good working knowledge of, complex software licensing and cloud business models and related legal issues. - Demonstrated ability to consistently deliver outstanding results. - Familiarity with data protection and privacy issues and concerns in the context of technology transactions. - Prior experience representing high-growth companies. - Ability to collaborate and function well in a distributed team environment. - Ability to participate in some limited travel requirements. - Written and spoken German. - Excellent written and oral communication skills. ## Benefits - Competitive base salary with no variable compensation component. - Transparent compensation philosophy based on market benchmarks, internal pay equity, and role complexity. - Opportunity to work in a fast-growing, globally distributed company with a focus on AI and search technologies.