Senior Manager Legal & Partnerships, Germany

About Zeno

Zeno is a Legal AI startup building a platform that helps lawyers, notaries and other legal professionals carry out legal research, review documents and draft written submissions - with genuine legal reasoning rather than mere text generation.

We develop technology that:

• searches and provides statutes, case law and legal literature with high precision;

• analyses legal questions step by step, applies legal assessments and weighs arguments against each other;

• explains every answer transparently, so that legal professionals can trace the conclusions back to the underlying sources.

While many tools merely automate superficial tasks, we focus on replicating the way a lawyer thinks when solving complex legal questions. Depth, traceability and trust are at the centre of what we do.

You will become part of an early-stage startup that already works with leading law firms. With a seed round of EUR 3 million, we are now building a team that wants to solve real problems, drive innovation and sustainably change the legal market.

The role

We are looking for a German-speaking lawyer who will be responsible for legal partnerships and Zeno's legal matters in Germany.

You will become part of our global Legal & Partnerships team and work closely with the founders, the product team and the Head of Legal & Partnerships to drive Zeno's growth in the German market.

This role combines building the German market with demanding legal work. You will build relationships with leading law firms, legal departments and notary offices, while acting as a trusted legal point of contact within Zeno for commercial, regulatory, compliance and strategic questions.

As the first Senior Legal hire focused on Germany, you will play a major role in shaping our market strategy, legal positioning, partnership strategy and the build-out of our internal legal function. You will work at the intersection of law, technology, product and business, and help ensure that our growth is both commercially successful and legally sound.

The role is ideal for someone who has already worked in law, understands the German legal market and wants to bring their expertise into a fast-growing legal tech company.

Your responsibilities

You will take responsibility for building and developing our legal partnerships in Germany.

Specifically, this means:

• building and maintaining relationships with law firms, notary offices and legal departments in Germany;

• supporting legal, regulatory and compliance-related questions relevant to operating an AI company in Germany and Europe;

• contributing to the build-out of internal policies, legal processes and governance structures;

• identifying concrete use cases where Zeno can create genuine value for legal research, document drafting, document review and knowledge work;

• working with product and engineering teams on legal questions around AI, data protection and responsible product development;

• working closely with product and legal teams to feed market feedback into the company's development;

• serving as an internal legal subject-matter expert and ensuring the high standards that legal professionals expect from us;

• representing Zeno at legal tech events, law firm meetings and relevant industry networks.

You will not get a rigid playbook. You will help develop it.

Whom we are looking for

You are a fully qualified lawyer, in-house counsel or an experienced legal professional with solid experience in demanding legal work and a deep understanding of the German legal market.

Ideally, you bring the following:

• Solid knowledge of the German legal market and an understanding of how law firms, legal departments and legal professionals evaluate new technologies;

• Experience in a leading law firm, legal department, a legal tech company or a legal innovation environment;

• Very good German and English skills, spoken and written;

• Strong legal judgement and the ability to identify, assess and manage legal and commercial risks;

• Experience advising on commercial contracts, strategic projects, regulatory questions or mandate-related legal work;

• The ability to quickly build trust with partners, general counsels, legal operations teams and other senior stakeholders;

• Confidence in negotiations and in commercial and strategic discussions;

• Interest in AI, legal work processes and the future of legal services;

• The independence to build a market and take ownership without relying on detailed instructions;

• An entrepreneurial mindset and an understanding of how legal advice supports business goals;

• A good sense of when to move forward, when to listen and when to involve others.

Above all, we are looking for someone who combines legal credibility with entrepreneurial thinking. You move confidently between legal analysis, strategic discussions, client conversations and market building, without losing the professionalism and judgement expected of a trusted legal adviser.

Why Zeno?

You will join early and take real responsibility for the German market.

You will work on one of the most important developments in the legal industry: the question of how AI changes the knowledge work of lawyers. You will be close to the product, close to our customers and close to the strategic decisions that shape our company.

This is a startup role. Priorities will change. Some weeks will be chaotic. There will not always be processes, scripts or perfectly prepared presentations. For the right person, that is exactly the appeal.

You will have the opportunity to:

• successfully establish a demanding Legal AI product in the German market;

• work with leading law firms and legal professionals;

• make the move from legal practice into a strategic leadership role;

• help shape Zeno's partnerships in Germany from the outset;

• work with a strong team of engineers, researchers, lawyers and entrepreneurs;

• build a role that can develop into a leadership position for the DACH region or Europe over time.