Associate Director

Responsibilities

Product and platform legal support

Deliver day-to-day legal counsel across Zeta’s banking technology stack, covering card issuance, transaction processing, lending and loan management, core account and ledger functionality, and Digital Credit-as-a-Service and Credit Line on UPI (CLOU), BNPL, and EMI-conversion products.

Advise product and engineering teams on the regulatory implications of platform features, including card management, real-time authorization and settlement, digital lending, account lifecycle management, instrument lifecycle management (physical and virtual cards, tokens, and QR), transaction switching, and fraud and dispute management.

Contract drafting, review, and negotiation

Draft, review, and negotiate agreements with banks, financial institutions, card networks, and technology partners, including platform licensing, SaaS and managed-services arrangements, program-management agreements, and BIN or balance-sheet sponsorship deals underpinning Banking-as-a-Service and embedded banking offerings.

Structure co-brand, affinity, and fintech partnership arrangements, and draft and negotiate credit card, debit card, prepaid instrument, and co-branded card program agreements spanning retail, commercial, private-label, and secured card products.

Structure and paper credit lines, BNPL, and loan-installment features and related payment and settlement arrangements, and negotiate digital lending, co-lending, and lending service provider (LSP) agreements.

Draft, negotiate, and manage fintech partnership, third-party vendor, and platform licensing agreements, allocating responsibility, liability, and data-handling obligations across Zeta, its clients, and its partners.

Regulatory advisory

Advise on RBI guidelines including the Digital Lending Directions, Credit Card and Debit Card Issuance and Conduct Directions, and Master Direction on Outsourcing of IT Services; NPCI regulations governing UPI and RuPay; and PPI rules under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act — tracking evolving developments and assessing their impact on Zeta’s products and programs.

Advise on card-network rules, grievance redressal frameworks, and partner bank agreement requirements for card and payments programs.

Advise on data privacy, cybersecurity, and data-localization requirements under the DPDP Act and IT Act, and on legal considerations relevant to maintaining SOC 2, ISO 27001, and PCI DSS certifications.

Provide legal input on regulatory filings, regulator queries and inspections, and legal risk assessments for new products and partnerships, and support the development of internal legal playbooks and templates.

Broader legal support

While anchored in banking and finance law, comfortable providing practical legal support across other areas as they arise for a fast-growing technology business, including corporate, commercial, employment, and technology or intellectual property matters.

Skills

Regulatory and commercial acumen: Commercially minded, pragmatic; translates complex regulation into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal stakeholders.
Stakeholder management and communication:Strong communication and negotiation skills, sound and independent judgment, ability to counsel senior management strategically.
Execution and prioritization: Highly organized and detail-oriented; manages multiple matters simultaneously in a fast-paced, high-growth setting; ability to leverage AI for legal work highly preferred. 
Team leadership and people management: Ability to lead and manage a team effectively.
Ownership and adaptability:Proactive self-starter, energized by ambiguity, comfortable in unfamiliar areas of law, takes ownership of outcomes, thrives in a collaborative, product-driven culture at the frontier of banking and fintech.

Experience and Qualification

LLB or equivalent law degree from a recognized institution; qualified to practice law in India. LLM is a plus.
9–12 years of post-qualification experience as a banking and finance lawyer, gained in a top tier law firm.
Hands-on expertise across digital lending, credit and debit cards, prepaid and co-branded card programs, payments, and fintech regulation.
Contract drafting & negotiation: Strong contract drafting, review, and negotiation skills across commercial, technology, and financial-services agreements.
Working command of RBI, NPCI, and PPI frameworks. 
Experience advising on software license, SaaS, IT services, and IP licensing matters; familiarity with Banking-as-a-Service;  cross-border regulatory exposure.
Proven experience leading and managing a team, including handling administrative responsibilities alongside substantive legal work.