About the job

Senior Legal Counsel

Sydney or Melbourne · Reports to Head of VC · Full-time

About Artesian

Artesian is one of the Asia Pacific region's most active early-stage venture capital investors, with $1.4 billion in assets under management. We back founders working on the world's most important challenges: climate, agrifood, health, AI & robotics, education, and gender equality.

Our legal function sits at the heart of how we operate: structuring deals, protecting our funds, and enabling our investment team to move quickly and confidently.

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Associate-calibre lawyer ready to step up and own the legal function at Artesian. This is a hands-on, end-to-end transactional role. You will lead deals from term sheet to close, manage ongoing fund and portfolio matters, and be the go-to legal voice for our investment team.

You are a self-starter who thrives with autonomy. You will work directly with portfolio managers, founders, and external counsel, and you will know when to roll up your sleeves and when to bring in support. Crucially, you embrace technology: you actively leverage AI-powered legal tools to work smarter, move faster, and scale your output without compromising quality.

What You'll Do

• Lead deals end-to-end, from reviewing and negotiating term sheets through to closing, including drafting and negotiating investment agreements, SHAs, and ancillary documents.
• Provide expert legal advice to the investment team on new investments, follow-on rounds, divestments, and portfolio company actions.
• Manage portfolio company transactions including shareholder resolutions, restructurings, and secondary transactions.
• Assist in the negotiation and drafting of fund documentation for new and ongoing funds.
• Work closely with founders, portfolio managers, and outside counsel to support sound and timely investment decisions.
• Operate with a high degree of autonomy, owning legal work streams end-to-end and engaging external counsel strategically.
• Leverage AI and technology tools in the legal space to improve speed, consistency, and scale across drafting, review, and research tasks.

What You Will Bring

• 5–8 years of experience in venture capital, private equity, or M&A law, ideally at Senior Associate level at a top-tier or specialist firm, or in-house.
• Proven ability to run complex transactions independently from inception to close.
• Strong drafting skills across investment agreements, fund documents, and corporate instruments.
• A commercially minded, solutions-oriented approach: you understand that legal advice needs to enable deals, not just protect against them.
• A genuine interest in startups and the venture capital ecosystem.
• Comfort with, and ideally enthusiasm for, using AI-powered legal tools (contract review platforms, drafting assistants, legal research tools) to enhance your output and scale operations.
• A proactive, self-directed work style. You don't wait to be told what to do.
• Admission to practice law in Australia with the right to work here.
• Fund management exposure is a bonus but not essential.

What You Will Bring

• A competitive salary with genuine scope for growth as you take ownership of the legal function.
• Flexibility in how and where you work; the team typically comes into the office three days a week.
• The opportunity to work on some of the most interesting early-stage deals in the Asia Pacific region.
• Opportunities for global work experiences to support your professional development.
• A collaborative, ambitious team that values speed, quality, and good judgment.
• 18-week parental leave for primary caregiver.

You will ideally be based in Sydney or Melbourne, though other locations will be considered. This role reports directly to the Head of VC.