Legal Counsel

About VAT Group

At VAT, we change the world with vacuum solutions. As the world’s leading supplier of high-performance vacuum valves, we have been driving innovation for more than 60 years. With over 3,200 employees worldwide, we operate from our headquarters in Haag, Switzerland, with manufacturing sites in Switzerland, Malaysia and Romania, as well as sales and service hubs around the world. We are guided by our passions: integrity, teamwork, customer centricity, and innovation – always working together as #oneVAT.

Joining us means becoming part of a passionate, international team where your voice is heard, your ideas matter, and your career growth is supported.

Legal Counsel

Purpose of the role 

Serve as the primary legal advisor to VAT’s global Supply Chain and Procurement organization, providing pragmatic and commercially focused legal support across the entire supplier relationship lifecycle. The role supports VAT in securing reliable, competitive and legally robust supply arrangements while identifying and managing contractual, commercial and compliance risks. It acts as a business partner to Supply Chain, enabling commercially sound decisions rather than merely providing contract review.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the primary Legal & Compliance contact for Global Supply Chain Management and Procurement, providing pragmatic and commercially focused advice across the supplier relationship lifecycle
• Draft, review and negotiate international supply-chain contracts, including master supply agreements, purchasing terms, long-term and capacity agreements, consignment and inventory arrangements, tooling, logistics, services, development agreements and NDAs
• Advise on key contractual and commercial matters, including pricing, forecasts, volume and purchase commitments, capacity, delivery, lead times, quality, warranty, liability, indemnities, intellectual property, termination and continuity of supply
• Support strategic sourcing, supplier selection, dual-sourcing, localization, outsourcing and other strategic Supply Chain initiatives
• Advise on critical supplier situations and manage related claims and disputes, including shortages, capacity constraints, price increases, delivery failures, quality issues, supplier distress, breach notices, contractual remedies, settlements and termination
• Protect VAT’s intellectual property, know-how, drawings, specifications, tooling, equipment and materials, and advise on relevant supply-chain compliance matters, including anti-corruption, competition law, sanctions and export controls, responsible sourcing and supplier compliance requirements
• Develop and maintain standard agreements, contractual fallback positions and procurement playbooks, and provide practical contracting training to Supply Chain and Procurement

Qualifications: 

• Law degree from a recognized university; bar admission is an advantage
• Ideally 5–8+ years of relevant legal experience gained in-house and/or with a commercial law firm
• Strong experience in international B2B commercial contracts, supplier negotiations and cross-border matters
• Experience supporting Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing or Operations
• Experience in the semiconductor, semiconductor equipment, advanced manufacturing, machinery, automotive or comparable technology industry is strongly preferred
• Good understanding of contractual intellectual-property protection; experience with complex supplier disputes and critical supply situations is an advantage
• Fluent English and German with excellent drafting and negotiation skills; other languages are advantageous

Key Competencies:

• Strong commercial judgment and ability to balance legal risk with operational and business requirements
• Excellent negotiation and contract-drafting skills
• Pragmatic, solution-oriented and able to provide clear recommendations under time pressure
• Strong ownership and ability to independently lead complex supplier matters
• Ability to build trusted relationships with Procurement, Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering and Quality
• Comfortable operating in an international, cross-functional and technology-driven environment; high ethical standards and integrity

Success in the Role

Success means that Legal is recognized as a proactive Supply Chain business partner that helps VAT secure supply, protect its technology and commercial interests, manage supplier risks early and establish robust, scalable contractual standards across the global supplier base.

Our commitment to inclusion, fairness and equal opportunities

We believe in meaningful careers, continuous learning, and equal opportunities for everyone to drive our innovation and success. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and respectful workplace. If you have concerns, our compliance channel is available at our website. All reports are handled with strict confidentiality and in accordance with our Code of Conduct.