Lead Counsel, Data Privacy

Overview

A global financial technology organization is seeking a Senior Lead Counsel specializing in Data & Privacy to manage legal and regulatory matters across the US and the broader Americas region. This role involves partnering with senior stakeholders on data protection, AI, cybersecurity, cross-border data access, and US financial privacy regulations. The position is based in Seattle.

Responsibilities

• Lead data and privacy legal counsel for the US and Americas, providing risk-based, business-oriented advice on data protection, AI, and cybersecurity issues, including cross-border access and national-security-related topics.
• Develop and implement AI governance globally, including policies, procedures, privacy mitigations, and accountability frameworks aligned with global and US AI regulations.
• Design and execute privacy and data protection compliance programs focused on US federal and state consumer financial privacy laws such as GLBA, FCRA, CalFIPA, Executive Order 14117, and state privacy regulations.
• Collaborate with Product, Engineering, Information Security, Regulatory Legal, Regulatory Compliance, Commercial Legal, and Risk teams to embed privacy and security by design in product development, technical architecture, user experience, and go-to-market strategies.
• Lead privacy impact assessments including DPIAs, PIAs, and AI risk assessments.
• Draft, review, and negotiate complex data protection and data-sharing agreements, including DPAs, cross-border transfer terms, and AI-related clauses with customers, vendors, financial partners, and third parties.
• Oversee international data flows involving the Americas, ensuring appropriate transfer mechanisms and governance such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs), and support data localization, storage, and access control initiatives.
• Co-lead privacy and data protection response for security and data incidents in the Americas, including triage, investigation, regulatory and customer notifications, remediation, and lessons learned.
• Advise on high-risk or novel data processing activities, including new AI use cases and innovative platform or embedded finance data models, ensuring appropriate safeguards and governance.
• Support interactions with US and Americas regulators and policymakers on privacy, cybersecurity, data access, and related topics.
• Develop and refine privacy workflow tools and processes, including intake, assessments, records of processing activities (ROPA), data subject requests (DSRs), and use of specialist tooling and compliance metrics.
• Provide training and enablement for Product, Engineering, Sales, Operations, and other teams on privacy, data, AI, and cybersecurity topics through playbooks, guidance, and office hours.

Minimum Qualifications

• Active US legal qualification (or foreign equivalent) with a license to practice in at least one US jurisdiction.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in-house or in private practice advising on technology, data, and privacy issues related to technical platforms and products.
• Strong knowledge of US federal and state privacy and data security laws (e.g., CCPA/CPRA, GLBA/Reg P) and their intersection with payments and financial services regulation.
• Working knowledge of GDPR and Canadian/South American privacy laws such as LGPD.
• Experience advising on US privacy adtech requirements and technologies, including consent frameworks under state privacy laws.
• Proven ability to partner with technical teams to translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical technical designs, controls, and processes.
• Experience advising on emerging US and global AI legal requirements and AI governance best practices.
• Experience supporting AI/ML tools, vendors, or products from a privacy and data protection perspective.
• Experience providing legal support during security or privacy incidents, including incident assessment, notification, and remediation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, capable of explaining complex legal concepts to non-lawyers and senior executives.
• High ownership, resilience, and pragmatism; comfortable working in a fast-paced, high-growth fintech environment managing multiple complex matters.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience advising on data, privacy, AI, and cybersecurity issues in financial services, payments, or fintech sectors.
• Familiarity with US financial privacy rules and national-security-related data access considerations.
• Experience interacting with regulators on privacy, cybersecurity, AI, or data access issues in supervisory, licensing, or enforcement contexts.
• Experience contributing to or leading global privacy programs, including DPO-style functions or building regional privacy frameworks.
• Relevant privacy and/or AI certifications such as CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, or AIGP.
• Prior in-house experience at a rapidly scaling technology or fintech company and working with globally distributed teams across time zones.

Compensation & Benefits

Details on compensation and benefits are not provided in the job description.

Location

This position is based in Seattle, USA.