Legal & Contract Manager MEA

About Harmattan AI

About the role

Commercial and procurement

• Draft, review, and negotiate customer, partnership, supply, and procurement agreements, including defence procurement documentation.
• Support complex negotiations with defence ministries, armed forces, public-sector bodies, and industrial partners.
• Build scalable contracting standards, playbooks, and approval processes.

Defence, AI, and regulated technology

• Advise on legal and regulatory issues relating to autonomous and AI-enabled defence systems.
• Work with the General Counsel on export controls, sanctions, and trade compliance.
• Advise on AI, data, cybersecurity, and intellectual property issues affecting the business.

Corporate and regional legal support

• Support entity governance, board documentation, and statutory filings across Arabic-speaking markets.
• Support employment matters with the People team and external counsel; manage disputes and pre-litigation matters with early risk assessment.
• Act as principal legal advisor for expansion across Arabic-speaking markets, coordinate local counsel, manage legal spend, and build scalable legal processes and templates.

Requirements

• Qualified attorney or in-house legal counsel with approximately 5 years of relevant experience across a law firm and in-house, technology, or defence environments.
• Native-level Arabic and fluent professional English.
• Strong track record drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts; solid grounding in contract and corporate law.
• Interest in defence, dual-use technology, AI, or other regulated sectors, and comfort with senior stakeholders in fast-moving, high-stakes work.
• Eligible to obtain and maintain any security clearance or authorization required for the role, subject to applicable law.
• An LL.M. from a US or UK institution, or exposure to defence, public procurement, or export-control matters, is a plus.

Location

• The role is described as being in Abu Dhabi; no explicit work-location policy is stated.