Principal Legal Counsel, Corporate & Finance

About us Aave Labs began with a simple question: how do we make financial services like borrowing, saving, and earning more accessible globally? We built the Aave Protocol, now the world’s largest and most trusted onchain lending market, connecting decentralized finance with individuals, traditional finance, and fintech. Today, we build trusted, high-quality products that expand access to lending, credit, and savings globally Our culture We build trusted products that help people access and discover economic opportunities. We hold a high bar for quality and craftsmanship. No detail is too small. Trust depends on it. We’re a global team building products people can actually use, turning complex technology into something simple and reliable. We stay aligned, move quickly, and think long term, while keeping teams lean and focused on impact. About the role

We're looking for a Principal Lead Counsel, Corporate & Finance, to join Aave Labs in the Cayman Islands, where our Group function is based. You'll be the senior legal lead on the corporate, compliance, treasury, finance and governance work that keeps the Group running, working closely with our Finance and Operations teams.

The Group is growing quickly, with new entities, licensed subsidiaries, a foundation and commercial relationships across multiple jurisdictions. You'll own the legal side of how the Group is structured, governed and funded, and make sure entity records, intercompany arrangements and treasury activity are properly documented, compliant and ready for review by banks, regulators, auditors and counterparties.

This is a senior, hands-on role for an experienced corporate or finance lawyer who can act as the Group's principal adviser on corporate and finance matters, advise boards and senior leadership with minimal oversight, and build out the function as the Group grows. Crypto experience is a plus but not essential. Strong corporate and finance fundamentals and a willingness to learn the industry matter more.

How you can make an impact:

Act as the principal legal adviser to Group boards, foundation councils and senior leadership on corporate, governance and finance matters

Manage the Group's legal entities across the Cayman Islands, UK, EU, US and other jurisdictions, including incorporations, dissolutions, statutory registers, filings and annual return

Build and run the Group's corporate compliance programme, including a compliance calendar of statutory, licensing and filing deadlines across all entities

Own Group-wide corporate policies, such as code of conduct, conflicts of interest, anti-bribery, sanctions, whistleblowing and personal account dealing, and run annual attestations and training

Track the ongoing corporate obligations of the Group's licensed subsidiaries, including FCA and MiCAR authorised entities, such as change in control notifications, director and officer approvals and annual returns, working with the regulatory and compliance teams

Support internal and external audits, bank and counterparty due diligence, and record-keeping and document retention requirements

Advise on and document treasury activity, including lending, borrowing, loan participations, custody arrangements and stablecoin and digital asset holdings

Work with Finance and external tax advisers on the legal structuring of transactions, including choice of contracting or lending entity, withholding tax considerations and transfer pricing support

Own the Group's signing authority matrix, document execution process and contract repository

Support the wider Legal team on commercial and regulatory matters as needed

Let’s connect if you have:

4+ years of post-qualification experience in corporate, finance or funds work, including significant time at a leading Cayman or other offshore law firm (or a leading onshore firm) and senior in-house experience

A track record as a trusted adviser to boards and senior leadership, leading complex transactions and managing external counsel with minimal oversight

Experience with entity management, board governance and corporate secretarial work across multiple jurisdictions

Experience building or running a corporate compliance programme, including policies, registers, attestations, training and a compliance calendar

Comfort working closely with Finance, Tax, Compliance, and Operations teams; familiarity with treasury operations, tax structuring or fund administration is a plus

Interest in or experience with crypto, DeFi or digital assets (helpful, not required)

Strong organisation and attention to detail, with the ability to run many workstreams at once and keep records accurate

Excellent communication and judgement, with the confidence to challenge and influence at the most senior levels

Willingness to be based in the Cayman Islands, with relocation assistance available for the right candidate

Haven’t quite met all the criteria? Let’s not miss out on the chance to speak. Whilst you might not meet every single requirement, you might bring other, more exciting skills to the companies! Equal opportunities statement: Aave Labs celebrates diversity and views each and every team member as a separate individual with their own unique identity. No matter your race, religion, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation or even the wallet you use, we welcome you at Aave Labs. As an equal opportunities employer, we take accountability and believe in everyone's potential to build, create and inspire changes. With a mission to build a diverse workforce, we are proud to foster a working environment in which everyone can feel safe and valued for who they are.