Senior Legal Counsel, APAC

HARTING stands for strong connections – across the globe. As one of the leading international suppliers of industrial connectivity, we are connecting customers to their digital future. And as an employer We connect around 6,000 people at our headquarter in Espelkamp and at locations worldwide. Here you'll find great colleagues, as well as ever new opportunities and innovations revolving around IoT and artificial intelligence. In everything we do, we remain true to our roots: as a regionally connected family business that always stays firmly grounded in spite of our stellar high-tech. Here's to your unique future with us: Yours!

Position:Senior Legal Counsel, APAC

Hierarchy Level: Senior

Functional Family: Human Resources and Legal and Compliance

Sub Function: Special Law, Labor Law and Compliance

Job Description

The Senior Legal Counsel, APAC advises and provides comprehensive legal support to the HARTING Technology Group's regional headquarters, subsidiaries and manufacturing plants across the Asia-Pacific region in contractual, judicial, and other legal matters. The Senior Legal Counsel will report to the Managing Director & CoRM APAC (direct) and the Vice President, Global Corporate Legal Services (functional).

As a Senior team member, the role leads significant projects and specialized areas of work, applying advanced expertise to drive improvement and innovation. The position operates within a matrix structure, ensuring alignment of regional legal practices with group-wide standards and governance frameworks set by global headquarters. The role is based in Singapore with regional travel required.

Job Responsibilities

The incumbent will handle the following duties, not limited to:

• Review, analyse, negotiate, and draft commercial contracts across the APAC region, including sales, supply, procurement, distribution and business agreements.
• Advise regional business units and subsidiaries on contractual rights, obligations, and interpretation of contract terms.
• Provide legal counsel on corporate, commercial, employment, IP, technology transfer, insolvency, antitrust, competition, sanctions and AI-related matters.
• Monitor regulatory changes across key APAC markets, conduct risk assessments, and develop mitigation strategies; advise leadership on potential legal impacts and emerging developments.
• Support the development and implementation of corporate policies, systems, procedures, and best practices for contract lifecycle management, ensuring alignment of regional legal practices with group-wide standards, policies, and governance frameworks.
• Independently manage and resolve legal cases, and liaise with external counsel, regulatory bodies, and internal stakeholders on disputes and legal matters.
• Oversee legal documentation across APAC markets, including governmental inquiries, licensing requirements, and jurisdictional compliance obligations.
• Act as the subject matter expert on commercial legal matters, providing training and developing internal legal SOPs and guidelines across APAC entities.
  
  

Qualifications

• Law degree (LLB or equivalent) required; admission to the bar in Singapore or another jurisdiction is an advantage.
• Minimum 8-10+ years of post-qualification legal experience with ideally a mix of law firm and significant in-house experience with a multinational company and demonstrated experience of legal frameworks across key APAC markets (in particular China, but also India, ASEAN, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Australia).
• Experience ideally gained within an international, product-based organisation in a similar or related industry (manufacturing/engineering/electrical/industrial), operating within a highly matrixed, multi-jurisdictional environment. Understanding of civil law systems is an advantage given the German group context.
• Extensive knowledge of commercial law, including contract, corporate, and commercial law; intellectual property and copyright law; technology transfer and insolvency law; antitrust and competition law; employment law; AI and emerging technology law. Working knowledge of data protection, product liability, public commercial law, administrative law, commercial criminal law and technical/standards regulations.
• Business acumen, with the demonstrated ability to balance business needs and legal risks.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently and effectively in dynamic, cross-border business environments, with strong project management skills and a hands-on, adaptable approach when required.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); basic knowledge of SAP.
• Business-fluent in English and Mandarin Chinese (both required) with excellent communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills, to better support Chinese-speaking markets; additional regional language proficiency (Japanese or Korean) is an advantage.
• Experience working directly with senior management/C-suite.
• Willingness to travel within the Asia Pacific region.
  
  

Professional Competencies

• Achievements
• Analytical skills
• Appearance
• Business and financial acumen
• Communication
• Cultural Fit
• Execution
• Experience
• Initiative
• Legal knowledge
• Negotiation skills
• Response
• Strategic thinking
• Stability
  
  

Culture Competencies

• Become better everyday
• Break new ground
• Champion customers satisfaction
• Demonstrate ownership
• Trust and collaborate
  
  

Benefits: Social Insurance coverage (APAC), Staff insurance coverage (APAC), Team work (NAZHA), Annual bonus salary (EMEA), Fruits at work (EMEA), Good IT equipment (EMEA), Great colleagues (EMEA), HARTING Birthday (EMEA), Room for initiative (EMEA), Be a key player (US)