Senior Commercial Counsel EU

• Owning your ambition and fueling your career growth.
• Collaborating with a vibrant, inclusive, global team.
• Joining a company with a proven track record of success and an exciting future.
• Contributing to a brighter, more sustainable future.

Imagine yourself…

• Owning your ambition and fueling your career growth.
• Collaborating with a vibrant, inclusive, global team.
• Joining a company with a proven track record of success and an exciting future.
• Contributing to a brighter, more sustainable future.

It's all possible with a role at Esko. Esko, a Veralto company, is a global provider of integrated software and hardware solutions that accelerate the go-to-market process of packaged goods. Our integrated platform and comprehensive tools empower retailers, pre-media and trade shops, manufacturers, and converters to manage best-in-class packaging design and print processes.

Innovation is built into the DNA of our business: every day, we challenge ourselves to be better by seeking out new ways to elevate our products, our processes, and our people.

We also know that innovation and ingenuity starts with prioritizing a diverse workforce and a deeply inclusive workplace. We encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to ourpositions.

We're seeking a Senior Commercial Counsel to serve as a strategic legal partner for Esko, leading commercial contract negotiations and delivering practical legal guidance that enables global business growth. You will also support other Packaging and Color operating affiliates (TraceGains, GlobalVision, X-Rite Pantone) as needed. You'll own end-to-end contract management, notably for complex software licensing and SaaS transactions, but also hardware related contracts as needed, advise cross-functional leaders on commercial and compliance matters, and help build a modern, scalable, technology-enabled legal function.

Beyond day-to-day legal work, this role is a chance to shape how legal operates: developing AI-enabled legal tools, building templates and playbooks, anticipating regulatory change, and growing a future nearshore team. You'll work closely with business leadership, sales, finance, R&D, and the broader Veralto legal team in Europe and the United States.

Success means becoming a trusted advisor to business leaders, accelerating deal velocity while maintaining strong risk governance, and establishing efficient, scalable contract practices and legal tooling within 12-18 months.

This is a remote role based in France with occasional travel.

What you will do:

Commercial and contract work

• Lead negotiation of complex commercial agreements, including software licensing, SaaS services, OEM arrangements, R&D agreements, and inbound/outbound IP licensing, to support global business growth.
• Partner with business leadership and sales to develop and execute commercial contract strategies that align with organizational goals and minimize legal and business risk.
• Manage the end-to-end contract process for routine and complex transactions, balancing efficiency and risk management.
• Advise on global distributor management, including renewals and terminations of worldwide distributor and agent agreements (taking into account French and local mandatory rules), and provide practical guidance on dispute avoidance and resolution with customers and suppliers.
• Support legal work for other operating companies (TraceGains, GlobalVision, X-Rite Pantone) as business needs require.
• Provide backup coverage for Esko's US-side legal work when needed, in coordination with US-qualified counsel as appropriate.

M&A

• Provide legal counsel on business model structuring and corporate matters, with clear, actionable guidance.
• Support M&A transactions as needed, contributing to due diligence and transaction documentation.

Legal innovation, AI, and process

• Contribute to the development and deployment of legal AI tools (notably with Microsoft Copilot and Claude, but also partnering with internal AI stakeholders to use the existing AI tools), including use-case identification, prompt and workflow design, testing, and responsible-use guidelines.
• Help build and maintain the legal department’s contract templates, negotiation guidelines, playbooks, and RACI/RACIS frameworks, so that legal can accelerate contract flow or focuses on high-value work, and business teams can self-serve on routine matters.
• Develop close relationships with R&D and product teams to understand the product roadmap early and anticipate the templates, terms, and risk positions that new products and innovations will require.

Regulatory anticipation and compliance

• Help build a regulatory watch capability across the legal department t