Overview
A technology leader is seeking a Director of Product Legal to join its legal department. This role involves supporting product legal functions by partnering with engineering, product management, and business teams throughout all phases of the product development life cycle. The position requires excellent judgment and the ability to understand complex products and business models. The role is based in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, with consideration for other locations.
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with product teams during conception, design, MVP definition, roadmap planning, commercial release, support, and end-of-life stages.
- Embed within the product organization to ensure legal compliance and other requirements.
- Provide pragmatic legal and regulatory advice on topics including open source, privacy by design, data inventory and flow, intellectual property protection, and product/data security.
- Develop and participate in scalable processes for legal review and product launch.
- Work with Product Management, Finance, and legal stakeholders to draft and structure product-specific terms, including custom templates such as SDK licenses, API/specification licenses, terms of use, and product policies.
- Assist with revenue recognition, cost of goods sold, and other financial issues related to software, hardware, recurring services/SAAS, and leases.
- Identify interdependencies and facilitate alignment among business, technical, and legal groups to balance business enablement and risk management.
- Advise, structure, draft, and negotiate technology transactions including partner agreements, OEM relationships, inbound technology licenses, joint development, collaboration, strategic alliances, SaaS, technology acquisitions, and professional/hosted services.
- Develop legal frameworks for feature and product deprecation and obsolescence.
- Drive consistency of terms from upstream licensors to downstream customers, including response plans for failures and product recalls.
- Support privacy, engineering, sales, and finance teams in evaluating data usage opportunities and optimizing data rights.
- Assist intellectual property teams in identifying patent gaps and opportunities from a product perspective.
- Maintain end-to-end bill of materials for each product/service.
Qualifications Required
- Juris Doctor (JD) degree and membership in good standing of at least one U.S. state bar.
- 12-15+ years of legal experience in a major law firm or in-house legal department supporting product-related legal issues and technology transactions/licenses.
- Strong work ethic, self-starter with a growth mindset.
- Flexibility to work hours suitable for a global enterprise.
- Strategic thinker with attention to detail; able to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Strong project management and organizational skills; able to work under pressure and meet deadlines.
- Excellent interpersonal and team collaboration skills.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
- Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
Compensation & Benefits
- Target salary range: $227,800 - $338,800 USD, dependent on location, qualifications, experience, and education; salary may fall outside this range.
- Competitive final compensation packages aligned with industry standards.
- Comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, life insurance, retirement or pension plans, paid time off, various leave options, performance-based incentives, employee stock purchase plans, and/or restricted stock units (RSUs).
- Benefits vary by country and region and are governed by local laws and company policies.
Location
- Primary location: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
- Other locations may be considered.
Equal Opportunity
The employer is committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and compliance with all federal, state, and local laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, disability or genetic information, pregnancy, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.