---
title: 'Legal & IP Counsel at Alta Ares'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/legal-ip-counsel-alta-ares-paris-7x18kmg7kddd'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Legal & IP Counsel at Alta Ares

- **Company:** Alta Ares
- **Location:** Paris, France
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/alta-ares/9cc54796-6ac9-4515-be23-5040d1f337b9

## Job description

## ABOUT ALTA ARES

Alta Ares is an air defense Neoprime. We build AI-guided interceptors to counter drones and cruise missiles, along with the software platform that powers them.

Our customers are NATO-aligned militaries and defense institutions, and our systems are regularly deployed during live exercises and operational demonstrations across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Founded in 2024, we have grown to 90 people, raised over $60M, and increased revenue 40× this year. We are now entering a new phase of international expansion, industrial scaling, fundraising, and product development.

## ROLE & MISSION

As Legal & IP Counsel, you will be Alta Ares' first dedicated in-house legal hire responsible for building and managing the company's legal function across three core pillars: intellectual property, commercial contracts, and corporate law.

You will work directly with the CEO and COO on the legal dimensions of Alta Ares' most consequential decisions: protecting the IP that underpins our technology, structuring commercial agreements with defence clients and institutional partners, and ensuring the company's corporate and regulatory foundations are solid as we scale internationally.

This is a builder role. You will establish processes, templates, and legal infrastructure from scratch in a fast-moving environment where precision, speed, and discretion are non-negotiable. You will work across multiple jurisdictions (France, UK, US, Ukraine) and across a highly sensitive sector where legal rigour directly impacts national security.

1. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

- Own Alta Ares' IP strategy and portfolio: patents, trade secrets, software copyrights, and know-how protection across all product lines (ISR, C-UAS, MLOps, HSI)
- Lead patent filing processes in coordination with external patent attorneys: drafting invention disclosures, managing prosecution, and maintaining the patent portfolio
- Define and enforce IP protection policies internally: employee IP assignment, contractor IP clauses, and open-source usage governance
- Conduct IP due diligence on partnerships, licensing arrangements, and potential acquisitions
- Monitor the competitive IP landscape and flag freedom-to-operate risks proactively
- Advise Engineering and Product teams on IP-sensitive design decisions and open-source compliance

1. COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS & DEFENCE AGREEMENTS

- Draft, review, and negotiate all commercial agreements: customer contracts, MOUs, teaming agreements, NDAs, subcontracting arrangements, and licensing agreements
- Own the contract management lifecycle: template creation, negotiation support, execution tracking, and renewals
- Advise on the legal specificities of defence procurement contracts across multiple jurisdictions: French DGA, NATO, EU institutions, UK MOD, and US DoD frameworks
- Review and negotiate grant agreements under EU defence funding mechanisms: EDF, EUDIS, Horizon Europe
- Manage and mitigate contractual risk in multi-party, multi-jurisdiction arrangements
- Build and maintain a library of standardised contract templates adapted to Alta Ares' commercial contexts

1. CORPORATE LAW & REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

- Support the legal structuring and maintenance of Alta Ares' multi-entity corporate architecture: France (SAS), UK (Ltd), US (Inc.), Ukraine, and any future entities
- Advise on corporate governance matters: board resolutions, shareholder agreements, equity plan (BSPCE) documentation, and cap table management in coordination with Finance
- Manage regulatory compliance across applicable frameworks: RGPD/GDPR, French corporate law, and sector-specific defence regulations
- Support export control compliance across applicable regimes: French AECA / CIEEMG, ITAR, EAR, and dual-use regulation in coordination with the RSSI and Sales teams
- Assist in fundraising processes: term sheet review, investor documentation, and legal due diligence responses
- Liaise with external counsel across jurisdictions and manage external legal spend efficiently

1. LEGAL ADVISORY & INTERNAL COUNSEL

- Serve as the go-to legal advisor for all teams: Sales, Engineering, HR, Finance, and Operations
- Provide rapid, practical legal guidance on day-to-day questions balancing legal rigour with business pragmatism
- Flag and escalate legal risks proactively to the CEO and COO
- Maintain organised legal documentation and contract registers in Notion
- Contribute to the development of internal policies with legal dimensions: data protection, security, and compliance frameworks

## CANDIDATE PROFILE

## EXPERIENCE

- 3 years of experience in law combining in-house counsel experience and/or private practice in a top-tier firm
- Strong background in at least two of: intellectual property law, commercial contracts, corporate law
- Exposure to technology, deeptech, defence, aerospace, or dual-use sectors is a strong plus
- Experience working with or within a startup or scale-up is a significant advantage: you understand the pace and constraints of a lean legal function
- Prior exposure to multi-jurisdictional legal environments (France + UK or US) is valued
- Familiarity with French corporate law (SAS governance, BSPCE, equity documentation) is a plus

## SKILLS & QUALITIES

- French fluency is mandatory: primary legal and corporate jurisdiction is France
- English fluency is mandatory: commercial agreements, international partnerships, and investor documentation are predominantly in English
- Rigorous and detail-oriented, you catch what others miss and never cut corners on substance
- Pragmatic and business-minded: you give clear, actionable legal advice, not just risk catalogues
- Fast and responsive in a defence startup, legal bottlenecks have operational consequences
- Proactive: you anticipate legal issues before they become problems
- Discreet and trustworthy you handle the company's most sensitive commercial, financial, and strategic information
- Comfortable operating as a generalist in a lean environment where scope is broad and resources are limited

## About Alta Ares

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Alta Ares builds an autonomous AI stack for next-generation air defense, ISTAR, and mission management, delivering counter-drone systems and edge intelligence to allied militaries.
- **Entity Type**: Private (raised pre-seed and seed rounds; most recent €50M funding announced June 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Paris, France (strategic offices in Toulouse, Kyiv, Abu Dhabi, New York, Athens, Munich, and London)
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Hadrien C. (CEO), Alain H. (Co-Founder), Stanislas W. (Co-Founder & COO) – per LinkedIn executive data

## Core Business
- **Industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing; AI-powered autonomous systems
- **Target Customers**: Allied governments and armed forces (B2B/B2G)
- **Mission**: “The next decade of allied security will be decided by who controls the autonomous systems above the battlefield. Alta Ares was founded to help ensure that the technologies shaping the future of defense are developed by allies, for allies, and fielded where they can make the greatest difference.” [altaares.com](https://www.altaares.com/)

## Products & Services
- **Black Bird**: Short- to mid-range multirotor autonomous interceptor for counter-drone swarms, with AI terminal guidance under jamming.
- **X-LOCK**: Mid- to long-range turbojet-powered fixed-wing effector for high-speed interception of drones and glide bombs; optional strike configuration.
- **Cyclops**: Sensor intelligence, mission planning, and flight monitoring system for UAVs – connects radars, classifies tracks, predicts trajectories.
- **Gamma ISTAR**: Real-time video intelligence on the edge for Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions. Includes Gamma Core (software deployable on any infrastructure) and Gamma Box (tactical rugged hardware node). Integrated with Gamma Ulixes MLOps platform for continuous model retraining.
- **Pixel Lock**: Software system for detecting, tracking, and guiding interceptors toward moving aerial targets. Acts as visual aid for pilots and as automatic guidance in GNSS-denied environments.
- **Mission Management Layer**: Unified platform combining air defense effectors, ISTAR products, and mission management software for autonomous operations.

[altaares.com](https://www.altaares.com/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total known funding ≈ €50M+ (includes a reported June 2026 round led by top-tier AI and defense investors) [altaares.com](https://www.altaares.com/); earlier pre-seed ($2.2M) and seed ($2.0M) rounds confirmed on LinkedIn [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alta-ares)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Airbus Defence and Space (signed MoU to co-develop European counter-drone solutions, June 2026); Expansion Ventures (led pre-seed). Other investors not yet named publicly.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Completed live Arctic trials of Black Bird interceptor with Estonian Defence Forces (Feb 2026)
  - Expanding to Munich and London in 2026
  - Rapid hiring: 19+ active job postings (LinkedIn), 12 listed on Built In
  - LinkedIn followers: 11,265 (+15.8% monthly growth)
  - Team: ~43 employees (LinkedIn) to 62 (Built In), with strong technical talent from defense and aerospace (Armée de Terre, Safran AI, Loft Orbital)

[builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/alta-ares) | [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alta-ares)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Sovereign European stack**: Entire AI and hardware chain developed by European allies, ensuring security and compliance for NATO and allied customers.
- **GNSS-denied operations**: All systems designed to function under jamming and contested environments.
- **Rapid field deployment**: Systems can be deployed by small teams in the field, reducing logistics footprint.
- **Full-stack integration**: One platform combining effectors, ISR, and mission management with edge AI and continuous MLOps.

## Strategic Focus
- Scale manufacturing and deployment of Black Bird, X-LOCK, and Gamma products to meet growing demand from allied nations.
- Deepen integration partnership with Airbus Defence and Space for European counter-drone solutions.
- Expand international presence (Munich, London offices in 2026) and grow sales in Baltic, Indo-Pacific, and Middle Eastern markets.
- Continue investment in AI terminal guidance, sensor fusion, and sovereign MLOps (Gamma Ulixes).

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Directly contribute to European and allied defense autonomy in a critical domain.
- **Cutting-edge tech**: Work on AI, computer vision, autonomous flight, edge computing, and defense-grade hardware.
- **Rapid growth**: Company raised €50M in 2026, tripling headcount timeline; many open engineering and operations roles.
- **Culture**: Described as a “deeptech startup” with a hybrid workspace (combination of remote and on-site); main offices in Paris and Toulouse, plus international hubs.
- **Perks**: Not detailed publicly, but typical for defense tech includes competitive compensation, equity, and mission-critical work. Engineering culture emphasized in job postings.
- **Ideal for**: Engineers (embedded, robotics, GNC, data, ML), test pilots, production managers, defense sales, compliance, and talent acquisition specialists.

## Sources
1. [altaares.com](https://www.altaares.com/)
2. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/alta-ares)
3. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/alta-ares)
4. [jobs.workable.com](https://jobs.workable.com/company/dTjqj5nvsJLNhfSDY12XbG/jobs-at-alta-ares)
5. [thecompanycheck.com](https://www.thecompanycheck.com/company/b/alta-ares/l5u43z56vx1ldmfss)

## Other roles at Alta Ares

- [DevOps Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/devops-intern-alta-ares-paris-ys5qhbgdkt12) — Paris, France
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- [Pyrotechnics Engineer H/F](https://feeny.ai/job/pyrotechnics-engineer-h-f-alta-ares-toulouse-fq3aa627wfxr) — Toulouse, France
- [Logistics Manager H/F](https://feeny.ai/job/logistics-manager-h-f-alta-ares-paris-jq0ba72knsyk) — Paris, France
- [Software Engineer — VIE  USA](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-vie-usa-alta-ares-new-york-tzvjqnfbydhe) — New York, NY
- [Business Development Representative — VIE  Germany](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-representative-vie-germany-alta-ares-munich-9y82690ehp52) — Munich, Germany
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- [Business Development Representative — VIE  Japon](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-representative-vie-japon-alta-ares-tokyo-xd296meqgnya) — Tokyo, Japan / Nagoya, Japan
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