Legal Counsel (m/w/d)

FORMEL SKIN is looking for an exceptional and pragmatic Legal Counsel to own all legal and data protection matters for our German operations. This is a senior (at least 4 PQE), highly autonomous role: you will be the sole legal presence on the ground in Germany, leading on all legal matters (including healthcare and AI regulation, commercial contracting, advertising, corporate governance data protection, and employment), creating and managing legal operations and process flows and advising senior stakeholders directly, while working closely with our UK Group Legal team at HQ.

We need someone who can operate as a true generalist - comfortable moving between varied and novel legal challenges in a fast-paced, rapidly expanding health-tech company. If you love problem solving and want to have a meaningful impact on health outcomes, this role and company is for you!

This hybrid role is based three days per week in Berlin.

What youll do

Manage litigation risk - Oversee medicinal product/device compliance, and first-line litigation and debt recovery, escalating to external counsel where needed.

Advise on healthcare (including AI) regulation - Track emerging AI and digital health requirements, advising product and engineering teams on the compliant development of our platform.

Lead commercial contracting - Draft, negotiate, and manage all German-law commercial agreements, from supply agreements to patient and vendor contracts, adapting group templates to the local market.

Review advertising & marketing compliance - Advise marketing and medical teams on German advertising, health claims, and consumer protection rules for campaigns and product communications.

Own data protection for Germany - Act as the primary point of contact for end-to-end GDPR/BDSG compliance (RoPA, DPIAs, breach response, regulator liaison).a

Oversee corporate governance - Manage corporate housekeeping, board and shareholder documentation, and statutory filings for the German entity, coordinating with the UK Group Legal team on group-wide governance policies.

Advise on employment law - Provide day-to-day guidance on hiring, terminations, and workforce structure, ensuring compliance with Germanys employment protection and works council requirements.

Build legal operations - Establish scalable processes, templates, and contract management tools for the German legal function, adopting automation (including AI) and legal-tech, tracking matters, deadlines, and legal spend as the business scales.

Who you are

Fully qualified lawyer in Germany (Volljurist/Volljuristin), with 4+ years PQE and demonstrable experience operating as sole or lead counsel without close supervision.

Deep, current expertise in relevant domains of German and EU law; experience acting as or supporting a Datenschutzbeauftragter is a strong plus.

A true generalist and fast learner, equally comfortable negotiating a commercial contract, advising on a termination, and running a data breach response.

Fluent in German and English, able to draft and negotiate confidently in both.

Pragmatic and commercially minded, balancing legal risk with business speed rather than defaulting to “no.”

Preferrable: experience in healthcare, life sciences, or another regulated industry.

Genuinely energised by ownership; youre the only lawyer in the building and comfortable making the call rather than waiting for sign-off.

An excellent communicator who builds trust with senior stakeholders in Germany while collaborating clo