Principal Counsel/Director, Legal

Job Description:

Rakuten International oversees 7 businesses with over 4,000 employees globally. The brand is recognized for its leadership and innovation in e-commerce, digital content, advertising, entertainment and communications, bringing the joy of discovery and access to more than 1 billion members across the world. Our teams deliver on the company’s mission to delight merchants and customers through innovation, optimism, and teamwork.

Rakuten Viki is a global entertainment streaming platform that specializes in Asian content. Our platform enables millions of viewers to discover and enjoy primetime shows and movies, subtitled in over 150 languages. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, we also have offices in Singapore, Seoul, and Shanghai, ensuring a strong global presence and a deep connection to the heart of Asian entertainment. Our platform is home to a large and loyal community of fans who share a passion for Asian culture and entertainment. Join us in our mission to bridge cultures and connect the world to Asian entertainment. At Rakuten Viki, we offer a chance to be part of a global community that celebrates culture, creativity, and connection.

We are seeking a business-oriented lawyer to join our Singapore-based legal team as Principal Counsel/Director, Legal. This role offers the opportunity to make an impact and operate at the intersection of digital content, technology and regulation at a global scale, with significant visibility across the organisation.

Key responsibilities:

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to senior business stakeholders (including the executive team) on a broad range of legal, regulatory and commercial matters globally.

• Report to and partner closely with the VP, Legal to drive legal strategy, priorities, and the execution of Viki’s global legal, privacy and compliance framework

• Provide strategic guidance on new business initiatives, product launches, and innovation within the OTT and digital media space.

• Lead the drafting, review, and negotiation of a wide range of agreements, including technology content licensing and production, distribution, advertising and vendor arrangements.

• Develop, implement, and maintain policies (internal and external), frameworks, registers and best practices across key risk areas.

• Manage regulatory inquiries, investigations, and engagement with government authorities and law enforcement agencies.

• Coordinate with external counsel and collaborate with Rakuten Group legal and privacy teams across jurisdictions.

• Mentor and develop legal talent, fostering a high-performing and business-oriented legal function.

Required Qualifications:

• Qualified lawyer with at least 10 years of relevant experience, ideally including significant in-house experience in a global or regional role

• Proven leadership experience, including managing and developing legal teams.

• Strong track record advising on cross border commercial, contractual and regulatory compliance matters.

• Proven ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with evolving priorities.

• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders.

• Strong interpersonal and stakeholder management skills, with experience working across cultures, functions, and seniority levels and cultivating external and internal relationships.

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively under pressure and high levels of ambiguity, while possessing the confidence to counsel business partners in making decisions that have legal and business impacts.

• Demonstrated ability to balance legal risk with commercial objectives and provide clear, actionable advice.

• Excellent critical and strategic thinking with strong judgment, problem solving skills, intellectual curiosity and willingness to engage with new and complex issues.

• Solid understanding of key regulatory areas including data protection/privacy, content regulation, intellectual property, digital advertising, and consumer protection.

• Strong business acumen and ability to position legal as a strategic enabler of growth, not just a risk control function.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in media, OTT/streaming, content acquisition/production/distribution or technology platforms.

• Familiarity with multiple legal jurisdictions and global regulatory frameworks, including GDPR, US privacy laws, LGPD and other international regimes.

• Experience with intellectual property (particularly copyright and patents), and digital advertising and content ecosystems.

• Exposure to disputes, regulatory policy and enforcement, or consumer-facing risk areas.

• Comfortable leveraging legal technology and AI tools to improve efficiency and impact.

• Ability to communicate in Korean, Chinese, or Japanese is an added advantage.

Rakuten provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type. Rakuten considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, provincial or local laws.