Legal & Regulatory Counsel

Company: Apliteni
Location: Remote (worldwide)
Work type: Remote

About the Role

We're hiring the owner of legal judgement for Apliteni — the person whose call is final on "what the law requires and whether the company's action is legally permissible." This is a role with real authority: you develop the company's legal positions and carry them yourself.

You own this domain end-to-end and you sign off on it yourself — no second signature, no routing through someone else. The strongest legal mind in the room also holds the authority to match.

Responsibilities

• Final decision on legal correctness — whether an action, document, or scenario is compliant. Your decision doesn't require anyone's approval.
• Handle LEA requests independently from receipt to response; sign and send. You keep stakeholders informed and make the call yourself.
• Manage regulator correspondence — AKI, EMTA, Estonian Police, foreign LEAs: you sign and send without intermediate sign-off.
• Independently determine whether a given law applies to Apliteni; your test is the input the rest of the company builds on.
• Final KYC/AML conclusion (OFAC, EU Consolidated List, PEP): admit/deny/admit-with-conditions. No second signature.
• Final decision on sanctions screening for a client or counterparty.
• Own real knowledge of how regulators actually apply the law (EDPB, CJEU, AKI decisions), and advise the team on where the real risk sits.

Success Metrics

• Legal opinion turnaround: ≤ 1 working day
• LEA response SLA: 100% in time
• Due diligence coverage: 100% of new counterparties cleared before work starts
• External counsel deflection: 100% of cases closed in-house, without outside lawyers and without losing context between requests

Requirements

• Real, hands-on legal expertise in a software/tech company under EU sanctions & data protection regimes — you've done the work yourself.
• EU/Estonian legal grounding — your base is EU regulations and directives, which are then transposed into Estonian law.
• Depth in at least two of: GDPR/data protection, sanctions (OFAC/EU), AML/KYC, responding to law-enforcement requests.
• Enforcement reality — you've actually dealt with regulators and answered their requests.
• Comfort owning the final call and signing it — judgement under genuine legal conflict (where every option breaks something) is the core of the job.
• Fluent English.

Strong Plus

• Experience with AKI/EMTA/Estonian Police
• Background in iGaming, crypto/fintech, payments, or adtech
• You already use AI in your legal work (or you're genuinely curious to)

Plus

• Estonian (for direct dealings with local regulators)

How We Work

Apliteni runs AI-native and flat — no managers, no titles, no grades. We organize around areas of responsibility: you own an area, you hold its quality, you carry the decision and the consequences.

You'll work inside the Compliance area of responsibility, alongside Compliance Engineering — this is a role within a team. AI takes the routine; you hold the meaning, the boundaries, and the final judgement.

We work async by default and keep teams small on purpose. This is a role with real authority and real accountability — it will not suit someone who wants cover.

Benefits

• Long-term, remote-first work from anywhere — no relocation, and you're free to travel.
• Flexible schedule — deliver on time and stay online for at least 4 hours within GMT+0 standard working hours, so the team can sync when needed.
• Unlimited paid time off — sick, recovering, caring for a kid or a pet, or taking a holiday, you take the time you need.
• Up to €2,500 per year in reimbursable benefits — you choose how to spend it across the categories we support.