In-House Legal Counsel & Compliance Lead

Olee.Space - Pune | Full-time, On-site

About us olee.space is a Pune-based deep-tech defence startup building next-generation photonics systems - Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC), and Wireless Power Transfer (WPT). We work with DRDO, ISRO/SAC, and global partners, and are gearing up for our Series A./

The role

We're hiring our first in-house counsel - a hands-on lawyer who can own commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, and corporate secretarial work end-to-end, working directly with the founders and finance leadership. You'll be the single point of ownership for everything legal, with external specialists retained for niche matters (patents, export-control opinions, litigation).

What you'll own

Commercial & Contracts (core)

- Draft, review and negotiate NDAs, MSAs, vendor and supply agreements, MoUs, JV/partnership agreements, employment and consultancy contracts, ESOP documentation
- Support government and defence tenders - RFP compliance, bid documentation, terms review (DRDO, ISRO, TIDCO and similar)
- Manage IP hygiene - coordinate patent/trademark filings with external agents, protect our photonics IP

Regulatory & Cross-border

- FEMA/FDI compliance including FC-GPR filings, ODI, and cross-border structuring (we have inbound foreign investment)
- Defence-sector regulatory work - DPIIT/industrial licensing, and export-control/SCOMET awareness for dual-use technology




- Track and manage sectoral compliance as we scale

Fundraising

- Support Funding Round - assist on term sheets, SHA/SSA, due-diligence data room, and investor documentation alongside external counsel Corporate Secretarial & Compliance (secondary)
- Companies Act / MCA compliance - board and shareholder meetings, minutes, statutory registers, annual filings (ROC), maintaining the compliance calendar
- Coordinate with auditors, CS professionals and consultants

What we're looking for
- LLB with 2-4 years experience, ideally in-house at a startup/tech/manufacturing company, or corporate/commercial practice at a law firm
- Strong drafting and contract-negotiation skills - this is the heart of the role
- Working exposure to FEMA/FDI, Companies Act, and commercial contracting (essential)
- Solid working knowledge of secretarial compliance with willingness to own it (coordinating an external CS firm where needed)
- Bonus: exposure to defence/aerospace, IP, or fundraising documentation
- Comfortable in a fast-moving, ambiguous, - you'll build the function, not inherit it

Why join
- First legal hire - real ownership, direct founder access, no bureaucracy
- Grow into the Head of Legal / General Counsel seat as we scale post-Series A

Location: Pune (in office) | Type: Full-time

- ? Apply here or write to [email protected]

📌 Legal Counsel & Compliance Lead (Pune)
🏢 Olee Space
📍 Pune