General Counsel & Vice President - Legal and Regulatory Affairs
No salary listed
Expert
JD
Remote in Canada+1 moreMore locations: United States
HybridOccasional on-site presence at the Toronto headquarters is required.
LegalLegal Counsel & Legal Support
About the job
Requirements
- A Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
- A license to practice law in the United States or Canada.
- At least 15 years of progressively responsible legal leadership experience.
- Significant experience supporting executive leadership and boards of directors.
- Experience negotiating complex commercial agreements.
- Strong knowledge of corporate governance and international business law.
- Experience managing legal teams and outside counsel.
- Exceptional communication and executive presentation skills.
- Occasional on-site presence at the Toronto headquarters location.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive leadership team, and board of directors on legal, regulatory, governance, and business matters.
- Develop and execute the company's global legal and regulatory strategy aligned with company objectives.
- Lead and develop a high-performing Legal and Regulatory Affairs organization.
- Build partnerships across Engineering, Product, Sales, Finance, HR, Security, and Operations.
- Present regularly to executive leadership and the board regarding legal, regulatory, compliance, and policy developments.
- Lead corporate legal matters, including commercial contracts, strategic partnerships, customer and supplier agreements, employment law, intellectual property, litigation management, privacy, cybersecurity, and corporate governance.
- Oversee mergers, acquisitions, investments, financing transactions, and other strategic corporate initiatives.
- Manage corporate structure and legal entities across multiple jurisdictions.
- Ensure compliance with domestic and international laws affecting the business.
- Develop scalable legal processes, templates, and governance frameworks appropriate for a high-growth technology company.
- Manage outside counsel globally while optimizing legal spend.
- Advise leadership on legal risk and develop practical, business-focused solutions.
- Lead and evolve the global spectrum strategy, including frequency planning, ITU coordination, national licensing, and global market access.
- Oversee regulatory engagement with agencies including the FCC, ISED Canada, Ofcom, BNetzA, the ITU, and other international regulators.
- Direct spectrum filings, licensing, coordination activities, and interference mitigation strategies supporting the satellite constellation and future technologies.
- Monitor evolving international regulatory frameworks and represent the company in global policy discussions, including the ITU, CEPT, CITEL, and other industry forums.
- Protect and expand spectrum assets while supporting long-term growth and innovation.
- Develop and lead the global government relations strategy.
- Build relationships with government agencies, regulators, industry associations, and policymakers.
- Support strategic government and defense business initiatives.
- Represent the company externally on legal, regulatory, and policy matters.
- Help influence legislation and policy supporting commercial space operations.
- Lead enterprise compliance programs.
- Oversee export control, sanctions, anti-corruption, privacy, government contracting, ethics, and corporate compliance.
- Maintain governance processes supporting board operations.
- Identify enterprise legal and regulatory risks and develop mitigation strategies.
- Support internal investigations and risk management activities.
- Recruit, mentor, and develop high-performing professionals.
- Establish priorities aligned with business strategy.
- Manage outside counsel and regulatory consultants globally.
- Foster collaboration across all business functions.
Desired Qualifications
- Experience within aerospace, satellite communications, telecommunications, or other highly regulated technology industries.
- Deep understanding of spectrum regulation, satellite licensing, FCC, ISED, ITU, and international regulatory frameworks.
- Experience supporting government and defense programs.
- Familiarity with export controls (ITAR, EAR, CGP) and government security requirements.
- Experience working in venture-backed or high-growth technology companies.
- Experience with international corporate structures and global operations.
About the company
Kepler Communications builds and operates a space communications network. It provides real-time, continuous connectivity for space missions through The Kepler Network, which includes satellite constellations, ground stations, payload technology, and intersatellite links to improve telemetry, tracking, and command. The company offers S Band, Ku Band, and Optical communication services to extend data downlink capacity and enable on-orbit data access, while also handling regulatory filings for customers. This setup helps satellite operators, space stations, launch vehicle operators, and other space assets access space-generated data without needing to manage their own communications infrastructure. Kepler’s goal is to remove barriers in space communications and enable global access to data from space.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$178.8M
Headquarters
Toronto, Canada
Founded
2015
Get referred to Kepler Communications
See people who can refer or advise you
Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- August 2026 Kepler began commercial services from Tranche 1 after commissioning.
- January 2026’s ten-satellite launch added 33 satellites, expanding capacity and customer coverage.
- Canadian RADARSAT+ studies and ESA contracts diversify revenue beyond commercial telecom.
What critics are saying
- SpaceIntelReport said ISED sought deadline relief after propulsion defects on two pathfinder satellites.
- Kepler still depends on SpaceX launches and ESA procurement cycles for expansion financing.
- If the 2028 Neutron launch slips, Kepler's optical roadmap loses momentum against better-capitalized rivals.
What makes Kepler Communications unique
- Kepler became ESA HydRON prime contractor in April 2026, proving sovereign optical-network credibility.
- Its January 2026 launch created the first commercial optical data relay constellation.
- Distributed on-orbit compute with NVIDIA, announced March 2026, separates Kepler from pure bandwidth players.
Help us improve and share your feedback! Did you find this helpful?
Benefits
- Hybrid Work Options