Director, Legal (Product & Regulatory)

Overview

This role involves leading legal support for product development and regulatory strategy across both the organization’s technology and banking operations (bank letters patent pending). You’ll partner closely with Product, Technology, Marketing, Risk, and Compliance to provide practical legal advice that enables innovation while protecting customers and maintaining strong regulatory standards.

The Director, Legal (Product and Regulatory) role is suited to a lawyer who enjoys hands-on work, solving complex regulatory questions, and taking ownership of outcomes in a fast-moving, flat organization.

Responsibilities

• Partner across both technology and banking operations (bank letters patent pending) to provide practical regulatory advice that enables growth while protecting customers.
• Support the design and launch of new financial products and features by identifying regulatory risks early and helping teams build compliant solutions.
• Play a key role in establishing and operationalizing a regulated bank, including supporting engagement with regulators such as OSFI, FCAC, and the Bank of Canada.
• Support Marketing and Growth teams by ensuring campaigns are effective and compliant with financial services and consumer protection requirements.
• Provide guidance to customer-facing teams on complaint handling, communications, and fairness considerations.
• Help build scalable legal and regulatory processes to support long-term growth as a regulated financial institution.
• Support the development of knowledge management for Legal.
• Mentor other Legal team members and represent Legal in cross-functional and leadership forums.

Requirements

• 10+ years of post-call experience as a lawyer practicing in Canada (in-house and/or at a law firm), with substantial in-house experience.
• Direct experience advising on the launch of retail banking products, as well as related financial services regulation, banking law, and consumer protection frameworks.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with significant autonomy and deliver practical, business-oriented legal advice to senior stakeholders.
• Track record of leading complex legal or regulatory initiatives with minimal oversight.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working at both a large bank and a smaller tech startup or fintech, ideally through a bank charter or launch process.
• Experience engaging directly with regulators.
• Lobbying or government relations experience.
• Familiarity with the RPAA and the Financial Consumer Protection Framework (FCPF).
• AML advisory experience at a bank.
• Experience implementing privacy laws.
• Experience mentoring or managing junior legal counsel.
• Fluent in French.

Compensation & Benefits

• Budgeted salary range: $220,000 - 260,000 CAD / year.
• Pay transparency: compensation is determined through factors including comparable salary market data within Canada, technical skill assessment, a holistic view of previous work history, and internal pay equity.

Location

• Remote-first (listed as #LI-Remote).

Language

• French is preferred (role requirements do not specify French as mandatory, but French fluency is listed under “Nice to Have's”).