Director of Legal

The Director – Waters Analytical Sciences & Information Technology is a senior individual contributor role that provides strategic, practical, and commercially focused legal support to the Waters Analytical Sciences business and Information Technology within a complex, global enterprise. The role partners closely with Waters Analytical Sciences regional and segment leaders to enable commercial excellence, product development and commercialization, and effective operational execution, while ensuring alignment with enterprise legal strategy, global standards, and risk appetites. The role also partners with Information Technology functional leaders on information technology, cybersecurity, and digital risk matters and continuous improvement of an enterprise governance framework relevant to a U.S. publicly traded company with global operations.

The Director operates with meaningful autonomy within an established enterprise risk framework, proactively identifying and managing legal and regulatory risk, and appropriately escalating complex, novel, or high‑risk matters.

The role reports to the Associate General Counsel – Waters Analytical Sciences & Information Technology and collaborates closely with global legal colleagues and cross‑functional stakeholders to deliver consistent, business‑aligned legal advice that supports innovation, growth, and operational integrity.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide day‑to‑day legal support to Waters Analytical Sciences division and to the Information Technology Function.
• Partner with regional and business segment leaders to deliver practical, solution‑oriented legal advice that enables business objectives while managing compliance, regulatory and operational risk.
• Advise on product commercialization, regulatory considerations, operational risk, and governance matters on an enterprise basis within applicable regulatory frameworks, including the medical-device regulatory framework.
• Identify legal, compliance and/or regulatory issues and escalate material or complex matters in line with established risk thresholds.
• Create and deliver training on key legal issues and risks associated with strategic direction and execution.

Waters Analytical Sciences & Information Technology

• Advise Waters Analytical Sciences business leaders globally on commercial, operational, and regulatory‑adjacent matters.
• Assist with execution of global legal strategy for Waters Analytical Sciences.
• Support product development and commercialization of advanced technologies.
• Partner with functional leaders to support scalable operating models that balance global standards and local needs.
• Advise Information Technology functional leaders on information technology, cybersecurity, and digital risk matters, and on the continuous improvement of an enterprise governance framework relevant to a U.S. publicly traded company with global operations.
• Advise on incident response matters, cybersecurity regulatory and reporting requirements, including incident response preparedness, regulatory notification and disclosure considerations, and coordination with internal stakeholders on materiality assessments and escalation protocols.
• Negotiate complex information technology contracts, ensuring compliance with regulatory and customer requirements within company’s risk tolerance.
• Partner with Global Operations, Compliance, Risk Management, Quality and other functional teams to assess and mitigate technology, data and operational risk across the enterprise.

Collaboration & Alignment

• Work closely with the Associate General Counsel and broader Legal leadership to ensure consistent advice and alignment with enterprise risk appetite.
• Collaborate with Compliance, Global Operations, Quality, Finance, HR and other functions to deliver aligned, effective support.
• Partner with regional and functional legal colleagues on cross‑border matters and initiatives.
• Contribute to standard templates, guidance, and processes to improve consistency and efficiency across regions, with a particular focus on Information Technology subjects or matters.

Execution & Continuous Improvement

• Manage a portfolio of material matters independently within defined scope and risk tolerance.
• Prioritize and re‑prioritize work in response to changing business priorities and regulatory developments.
• Identify opportunities to improve legal processes, efficiency, and service delivery globally, with a particular focus on supporting Information Technology subjects and matters.
• Support adoption of new tools, processes, and operating models within the Legal function.

• Legal qualification and license to practice law in at least one jurisdiction.
• Demonstrated experience as a Director (or equivalent) level in a legal role within a complex, global organization with strong stakeholder management skills.
• Strong grounding in commercial law, complex information technology and cybersecurity matters, and cross‑border legal issues supporting medical device businesses for a US publicly traded company.
• Proven track record of negotiating complex IT, cloud service and product security arrangements or contracts.
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity frameworks and regulatory obligations in multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven ability to manage multiple matters, prioritize effectively, and deliver practical solutions to Commercial, Information Security, and Risk management teams at the senior leadership level.
• Highly organized, attention to detail, with exceptional communication skills, including the ability to translate technical risk into clear legal and business guidance.

In addition to salary, we work flexibly and provide 25 days holidays, excellent family friendly benefits such as attractive employer pension contribution, life assurance, income protection and private medical. With Waters, there are plenty of opportunities for you to grow, develop and contribute.

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is a global leader in life sciences and diagnostics, dedicated to accelerating the benefits of pioneering science through analytical technologies, informatics, and service. With a focus on regulated, high-volume testing environments, our innovative portfolio harnesses deep scientific expertise across chemistry, physics, and biology. We collaborate with customers around the world to advance the release of effective, high-quality medicines, ensure the safety of food and water, and drive better patient outcomes by detecting diseases earlier, managing routine infections, and combating antibiotic resistance. Through a shared culture of relentless innovation, our passionate team of ~16,000 colleagues turn scientific challenges into breakthroughs that improve lives worldwide. 

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our core values at Waters Corporation. It benefits our employees, our products, our customers and our community. Waters complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws. Qualified applicants are considered without regard to sex, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, marital status (including civil unions), military service, veteran status, pregnancy (including childbirth and related medical conditions), genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, legally recognized disability, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Waters is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. All hiring decisions are based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.