About the company
Since 2013, Smallpdf has been on a mission to simplify people's lives by making document management easy and accessible. As one of the most popular PDF tools in the world, we process millions of documents daily and support over 25+ million users worldwide to get the most out of PDFs. And we’re not done yet.
In 2022, we took a big step forward by acquiring PDF Tools, a Zurich-based pioneer for products that help to create, manipulate, and validate PDF- and PDF/A- files to support and improve our customers’ document workflows.
As a team of over >100 people from 34 nationalities, both in our offices (Zurich, Belgrade, and Barcelona) and remote, we're proud to have made PDFs and life just a little bit easier for over a billion customers, making our mission successful! And we’re looking for more brilliant minds with passion and deep curiosity, eager to make an impact and move the needle in the right direction.

Your mission / About the role
We are seeking an experienced and proactive Legal Counsel to join our team and play a key role in safeguarding our business operations, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations, and providing expert legal advice across all levels of the organization. As the go-to legal expert, you will handle a variety of legal and compliance matters, from contract negotiations to data protection, while working closely with cross-functional teams to support our strategic goals.

Key responsibilities

• Go-to-person for any legal & compliance topics, initiatives & questions across Smallpdf and PDF Tools
  
• Drafting, reviewing & negotiating contracts, providing legal advice & counsel on data protection topics (e.g., GDPR & CCPA), independently leading relevant initiatives, and being co-responsible for our ISO27001 certification in collaboration with IT ops.
  
• Comfortable managing data breaches scenarios and other legal-emergencies that might arise.
  
• Providing advice on any legal & compliance questions and counsel for both internal and external stakeholders, esp. around data privacy (e.g. GDPR, CCPA etc.) and contractual queries.
  
• Drafting, interpreting and negotiating contracts & agreements (e.g. DPAs, customer / vendor, employment, NDAs, PSOP, MSAs etc.) and a variety of other agreements related to interactions with our customers, strategic partners, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders
  
• Leading compliance projects in cross-disciplinary teams, including working closely with the engineering teams
  
• Work closely with our HR department on queries related to employment matters and phantom stock option plan
  
• Improving internal policies & processes on legal & compliance - lead monthly compliance meetings and quarterly risk reviews at both Smallpdf and PDF Tools
  
• Delivering advice on how to manage legal & compliance risks and report the risks to our management when needed
  
• Performing other tasks as necessary to ensure that the legal team meets its commitments to stakeholders
  
• General corporate governance: drafting board resolutions, issuing documents for signature, updating the commercial register in collaboration with local law firms
  
• Working closely with the sales team at PDF Tools on procurements and contracts for the sale of services.
  
• Creating contract playbooks for the sales team and continuously improving the quality of our templates.
  
• Providing training sessions to the employees on relevant topics.
  
• Managing legal budget.
  
• Experience issuing instructions to law firms or working in a law firm.
  
• Managing the legal affairs of three legal entities: Smallpdf AG, Smallpdf CEE and PDF Tools AG in collaboration with local law firms.
  

What you need to be successful

• Experience as general counsel or in a senior legal role.
  
• LLM (master of law) or equivalent / higher degree in law and certified/qualified lawyer / bar license in Switzerland or abroad.
  
• Knowledge of and experience with Swiss legislation.
  
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of data protection (e.g. GDPR, CCPA, etc.), contract and corporate law.
  
• Experience working with product teams.
  
• Entrepreneurial mindset - high-paced environment.
  
• Based in Zurich or willing to relocate to Zurich (this is an on-site role).
  
• Excellent English skills and capable to review and negotiate contracts in German (spoken and written).
  

Plus:

• Experience working for a technology / software / Saa S company
  
• Experience working with Torii, Jira,
  

What’s in it for you

Our culture & values
This company is what you make it. Our people shape smallpdf into a place we our proud to work at. Every task, every challenge is an opportunity to move the needle, innovate and make a genuine impact. We're a driven team - pragmatic, goal-focused, and always eager to solve the next big problem. This isn’t a place for mere management or grand visions detached from reality; it’s a ground for hands-on tech champions ready to roll up their sleeves. If you're someone who's willing to dive deep into the action, someone who's more about the journey than just the title, Smallpdf is your destination. This translates into our core values:

• You is WE
  
• 100% yours
  
• Dive deep to get it right
  
• Move that needle
  

Our benefits
You get to impact how over 60 million people get work done monthly.
Push boundaries and dare to fail—that’s how we learn!
30 vacation days—yep, you read that right— you can take them whenever you need them.
Flexibility: we have flexible working hours
Need a long break? We offer sabbatical leave to employees who’ve been with us for over two years.
16 weeks parental leave—100% of your salary—for all new parents.
Don’t leave your four-legged friends at home; our offices are pet-friendly.
A well-being budget of up to 2,000 CHF every year that can be used for training and development (plus days off for courses or training) and for physical and mental well-being purposes.
We offer 1-1 coaching sessions to individual contributors and employees in leadership positions through our external partner 'Better Up'.
Possibility of a Phantom stock option plan (PSOP). (Conditions apply.)
Hack days to challenge you and your team, plus build amazing things.

Smallpdf is an equal-opportunity employer. We believe our greatest strength is a talented, diverse and inclusive workforce. We strongly oppose any form of hiring or workplace discrimination against candidates or employees on any basis including race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, philosophy, nationality, disability or genetic information. We’re committed to fostering a safe, supportive environment where everyone can work as their full selves and reach their greatest potential. That’s why we encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to join this multicultural team.
Submitting your application allows Smallpdf to handle and store your data.
Smallpdf does not seek or accept unsolicited applications or CVs from recruitment agencies. We are not responsible for and will not pay any fees, commissions, or any other payment related to unsolicited applications or CVs except as required in a written contract between Smallpdf and the recruitment agency or party requesting payment of a fee.