Commercial Counsel

Overview

This role is for an experienced Commercial Counsel to join the legal team at a remote-first organization. Approximately 80–90% of the position focuses on commercial contracting, including ownership of the customer, partner/channel, and vendor contract lifecycle—from intake and drafting/redlining to live negotiations and agreement management through execution. The remaining time supports privacy, compliance, and product counseling.

This position reports to the General Counsel and works closely with Sales and Customer Success, as well as Security, Compliance, and Product teams to mitigate legal risk while facilitating revenue growth and operational efficiency. Deal flow includes meaningful month-end and quarter-end cycles, so the role requires comfort with periods of high activity and urgency.

Responsibilities

Contract Negotiation & Drafting

• Own a high volume of contracts from intake through execution, independently drafting, reviewing, and negotiating:
  • SaaS subscription agreements
  • Enterprise license agreements
  • Order forms
  • Partner and reseller agreements
  • SOWs
  • Amendments
• Negotiate customer and vendor contracts, including MSAs, DPAs, BAAs, NDAs, AI addenda, and professional services agreements.
• Participate in live negotiation calls with customers and vendors.
• Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, and clause libraries to improve speed and consistency.
• Partner with Sales and Customer Success to close deals efficiently while managing risk.

Risk Management & Compliance

• As the role grows, take increasing responsibility across privacy and data protection (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA), product counseling, compliance, commercial dispute resolution, and marketing support for go-to-market activities.
• Apply GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other privacy laws in contract negotiations.
• Assist with global privacy and AI compliance initiatives, including emerging U.S. state privacy laws and the EU AI Act.
• Provide guidance on contract interpretation and pre-litigation commercial disputes.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & General Support

• Serve as a strategic legal partner to business teams, providing timely, practical legal advice that moves deals and projects forward.
• Collaborate with IT/Security, Compliance, and Finance teams to help ensure agreements align with corporate risk tolerances and budget requirements.
• Conduct legal research and stay current on legislation, regulatory developments, and case law affecting privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, AI regulation, open source licensing, and SaaS contracting practices.
• Collaborate with external legal counsel when necessary.
• Develop and implement internal policies and procedures to manage legal and operational risk.
• Provide training and guidance to internal teams on contract processes, data privacy, and compliance requirements.
• Support incident response efforts, including data breach notification obligations, in coordination with Security and Compliance teams.

Requirements

Education & Credentials

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
• Active member in good standing of at least one State Bar.

Experience

• 3–6 years of experience practicing law, with a primary focus on commercial contracts and technology transactions.
• Significant and recent experience owning SaaS customer agreements from start to finish on behalf of a technology provider.
• Proven experience in a corporate in-house legal department or a law firm tech/commercial practice group.
• Deep familiarity with SaaS business models, software licensing, and cloud computing legal issues.
• Hands-on experience applying GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other privacy laws in commercial agreements, including negotiating DPAs, and working knowledge of security frameworks such as SOC 2.

Skills & Competencies

• Enthusiasm for AI, legal technology, and using new tools to work smarter; ability to stay current on how technology is changing legal practice.
• Commercial pragmatism: ability to balance legal risk with business objectives and drive matters to completion.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to explain complex legal concepts to non-legal stakeholders.
• Ownership and problem-solving: comfort with detailed work, strong organizational skills, and ability to manage a high volume of contracts under tight deadlines.
• Interpersonal savvy and cultural awareness; ability to work effectively across international teams and support cross-border commercial agreements (US, EMEA, APAC).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience reviewing and negotiating AI addenda or AI-related contract terms.
• Familiarity with the EU AI Act.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $143,000–$165,000 per year (remote position), based on skills, experience, and qualifications. Actual offer will be based on the individual candidate.
• Total compensation may include variable pay, equity, bonus and/or other forms of compensation.
• Comprehensive benefits package including:
  • Health insurance
  • Retirement plans
  • Flexible paid time off
  • Additional benefits

Location

Remote-first role supporting US, EMEA, APAC cross-border agreements.

Employment Notices

• Participation in E-Verify.
• Drug-free workplace.
• All employment offers are contingent upon successful passing of a background check.
• Pay transparency: compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets.

Security & Privacy Expectations

All employees are responsible for understanding and adhering to the organization’s security and privacy policies, procedures, and standards, including protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and systems within the scope of responsibility.

Role requirements include participating in mandatory security and privacy training and ensuring best practices are applied in all work activities.