(Senior) Legal Counsel - Investment Operations (f/m/d)
Upvest provides regulated, API-first investment infrastructure for fintechs, banks, brokers, and wealth managers across Europe and the UK.
Funding history
About Upvest
Upvest is a Berlin-based, regulated investment-infrastructure company serving financial institutions that want to launch and scale brokerage, wealth, and pension products. Its cloud-native Investment API provides brokerage, settlement, custody, and real-time investment functionality, while its operations offering automates middle- and back-office processes. Upvest supports flexible operating models under its own or clients’ licences and offers fractional securities, portfolios, and savings plans across European and UK markets.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will support Upvest's post-trade infrastructure by ensuring clearing, settlement, and custody activities are legally sound, operationally resilient, and regulatorily compliant across European markets.
Requirements
- 3–5 years of post-qualification experience in financial services.
- At least one German legal qualification, including Erste Juristische Prüfung.
- Hands-on understanding of clearing, settlement, and custody mechanics.
- Experience in a regulated investment firm, custodian bank, CSD, infrastructure provider, or relevant fintech.
- Strong command of EU and German financial law, including MiFID, CSDR, WpDVerOV, and MaRisk.
- Exposure to UK FCA regulation or other European national competent authorities is a plus.
- Familiarity with adapting legal frameworks across European markets.
- Enthusiasm for legal technology and process improvement.
- Professional fluency in English and German.
Responsibilities
- Advise on the legal framework governing clearing, settlement, and custody operations.
- Own the legal framework for client asset protection and safekeeping obligations.
- Structure, document, and monitor custody and sub-custodian relationships.
- Negotiate and manage agreements with CCPs, CSDs, custodians, and infrastructure providers.
- Monitor EU and German post-trade regulation and translate it into actionable guidance.
- Support responses to post-trade incidents, settlement failures, and operational risk events.
- Develop legally defensible response playbooks.
- Modernize legal operations through scalable contracting, AI-assisted review, and documentation standards.
Benefits
- 30 days of annual leave
- Sports benefits
- Confidential professional coaching
- Remote work abroad for up to 183 days per year
- One-month fully paid sabbatical after every four years
- Personal development budget
- Flexible work environment across Berlin, London, and Tallinn
- Hybrid or remote work across Europe depending on the role
- Employee equity participation program
- Company-wide events and Employee Resource Groups