Legal Counsel
Possible
Sponsorship likelihood
This employer issued few or no visas recently
Not disclosed
Salary
Not disclosed by employer
£51,600
Going rate
Skilled Worker going rate
This role likely qualifies for a Skilled Worker visa
SOC 2412 (99% match) is an eligible occupation, with a going rate of £51,600, and SOVEREIGN AI OPERATIONS LIMITED is a licensed sponsor. That is our reading of the rules. Whether they issue a Certificate of Sponsorship is still their call.
New graduate or PhD holder? Pick one of the lower rates.
What each route needs for this job
| Occupation code | New entrant 70% of going rate | STEM PhD 80% of going rate | Relevant PhD 90% of going rate | Standard rate 100% of going rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2412 Solicitors and lawyers Most likely code | £36,100 | £41,300 | £46,500 | £51,600 |
We use the lowest threshold across the plausible codes. Likelihood is Possible at most when the pay clears only a lower rate, or only under a less likely code. How the Home Office picks the code
About the role
About RHAELM
RHAELM is the sovereign AI cloud built to accelerate secure AI deployment at scale, combining power and infrastructure pipelines with global capability and local, in-country operations. Headquartered in London, with deployments across Europe and APAC, we deliver ring-fenced compute, networking, and storage infrastructure alongside a sovereign platform and flexible Bare Metal, Kubernetes, and AI-as-a-Service models. Focused on regulated and mission-critical sectors including Government, Defence, Healthcare, and Financial Services, we give organisations sovereign control over their AI infrastructure, platform, and data.
This Role
Reporting to the Group General Counsel, you will be a hands-on member of the Legal team at the centre of RHAELM's growth. You will act as a trusted commercial legal partner to the business, working across contracting, infrastructure and power, corporate and governance, and the stand-up of new entities across Europe, APAC and beyond.
The breadth of exposure is unusual. You will take genuine ownership of matters end-to-end and help shape a global AI infrastructure platform. The role is demanding and suits someone who is comfortable operating at pace. Subject to eligibility and applicable plan terms, you will also share in the company's future success through the reward and incentive arrangements RHAELM offers its people.
Key Responsibilities
Draft, review and negotiate commercial and technology agreements, including MSAs, framework agreements, NDAs, wholesale AI compute and capacity offtake agreements, cloud and SaaS terms, and data sharing and processing agreements.
Support the site, data centre and power pipeline end-to-end, from site acquisition and leasing to construction contracting, grid connection and power supply arrangements.
Support corporate and governance workstreams, including entity stand-up across Europe, APAC and beyond, board and committee processes, and delegated authority and policy roll-out.
Provide practical legal input on AI governance, data protection, IP, technology licensing, and sanctions and export controls, working closely with Compliance and the Data Protection Officer.
Own the day-to-day contracting workflow, including templates, playbooks, positions and turnaround, and maintain the precedent library and legal knowledge base.
Instruct and manage external counsel and advisors across jurisdictions, scoping matters, controlling cost and reviewing deliverables.
Partner with Infrastructure, Development, Real Estate, Finance, Tax, People, IT and Information Security, and Company Secretariat teams to give timely, commercially minded advice.
Engage with counterparties, landowners, grid and distribution network operators, energy suppliers, vendors and regulators as required.
Experience
3-5 years PQE, gained in a leading law firm and/or in-house.
Strong general commercial contracts experience.
Ideally, exposure to infrastructure, energy, power, real estate, construction or data centre-related transactions.
Experience working across multiple jurisdictions and instructing local counsel.
Immediate availability is required for this role.
Skills
Strong drafting and negotiation skills across commercial, infrastructure, power, real estate, construction and technology contracts.
Working knowledge of data protection (including GDPR), IP, and SaaS and AI licensing concepts.
Pragmatic judgement, with the ability to turn legal risk into clear, actionable advice.
Able to manage multiple matters, prioritise effectively and deliver to tight timelines.
Collaborative and service-oriented, with high standards of integrity, discretion and confidentiality, and a willingness to support colleagues at every level of the team.
Qualifications
LLB (or equivalent) from an accredited university.
Admitted to practice as a solicitor of England and Wales (or an equivalent common law qualification, subject to role requirements).
This description is the source posting as it read when we added it. We are not affiliated with SOVEREIGN AI OPERATIONS LIMITED, so check their own site for the current details.
Where this offer sits in the market
Solicitors and lawyers (SOC 2412) · UK · ONS ASHE 2025 · basic pay · ~129k in sample- Middle half £41,392–77,584
- Median £57,304
- Going rate £51,600
- Threshold £41,700
- New entrant £36,100–46,500
Similar sponsored roles
See all UK visa jobsNo close matches live right now.
Browse more sponsored jobs at SOVEREIGN AI OPERATIONS LIMITEDAbout sponsorship for this role
Does this job guarantee visa sponsorship?
Not necessarily. SOVEREIGN AI OPERATIONS LIMITED holds a sponsor licence, but sponsorship for a specific hire is always the employer's decision. Be upfront in your application that you'll require it.
What salary is needed for this role to be eligible?
The offer must clear both the general threshold and the SOC 2412 going rate of £51,600. New-entrant and shortage discounts can lower it.