Overview
This role involves owning the litigation function and serving as a key product counseling partner as the organization advances toward commercial deployment of its Level 4 autonomous trucking platform. Reporting to the Associate General Counsel – Litigation & Commercial, you will manage active litigation, build litigation-readiness processes, and partner with Engineering, Product, and Safety & Regulatory teams (including Government Affairs).
Responsibilities
Litigation and incident response
- Own the litigation docket end to end: oversee outside counsel, manage budgets, set strategy, and drive resolution in alignment with the General Counsel and business stakeholders
- Build and run the litigation readiness program, including legal hold procedures (issuance, custodian communication, and releases), litigation response playbooks, and evidence preservation protocols
- Serve as the legal lead on the cross-functional incident response team, coordinating with Safety & Regulatory, Engineering, Communications, and others when incidents occur
- Develop litigation readiness frameworks for driver-out commercial operations, including protocols for incidents involving the autonomous driving system and for recalls
- Manage the outside litigation counsel panel, including selection, engagement terms, billing guideline compliance, and performance
- Report on litigation exposure and trends to the General Counsel and senior leadership
- Advise on how record retention, insurance, and cybersecurity intersect with litigation readiness and incident response
Product counseling
- Partner with Product, Engineering, and Safety & Regulatory teams to spot and mitigate legal risk early in the development cycle, including in safety case documentation and commercial launch activities
- Advise on product liability exposure arising from the organization’s autonomous driving system
- Support regulatory reporting, including NHTSA Standing General Order crash reporting, defect and recall reporting, and Early Warning Reporting
- Provide legal analysis to safety governance bodies on product release decisions and safety artifact requirements
- Work with Government Affairs and outside regulatory counsel to turn evolving federal, state, and international AV regulation into practical guidance for internal teams, and assess what it means for litigation risk
- Advise on go-to-market issues as the organization moves from testing to commercial freight operations, including operational design domain limitations, risk allocation in customer agreements, and fleet partner requirements
- Review external communications, technical publications, and customer-facing materials for legal risk
- Build working expertise over time in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, ADS exemption processes, and FMCSA commercial vehicle safety requirements, in partnership with Government Affairs and outside counsel
Supporting the legal team
- Contribute to legal department process improvements, playbook development, and knowledge management
Requirements
- J.D. from an accredited law school
- Active membership in good standing of at least one U.S. state bar
- 7+ years of legal experience, with meaningful exposure to litigation management, product liability, or related practice areas
- Track record managing litigation and outside counsel, including budgeting, strategy, and resolution
- Experience building or maintaining litigation readiness infrastructure, such as legal hold programs and incident response protocols
- Sound judgment and ability to give clear, practical advice in a fast-moving, technically complex environment
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including ability to explain complex legal concepts to executives, engineers, and other non-lawyers
- Collaborative style and ability to earn trust with Engineering, Safety, Product, and Operations teams
- Owner’s mindset: comfortable building and running a function
- Genuine curiosity about complex technology and interest in developing regulatory expertise over time
- Availability to respond on short notice, including occasional evenings and weekends, when incidents or urgent matters arise
- Integrity and discretion in handling sensitive and privileged information
Preferred Qualifications
- In-house experience at a technology company, automotive OEM, Tier 1 automotive supplier, or advanced mobility company
- Experience advising on product liability for hardware-software systems in regulated, safety-critical industries (e.g., automotive, aviation, medical devices, industrial automation)
- Familiarity with NHTSA, FMCSA, or other federal transportation safety frameworks
- Experience working alongside a Government Affairs function on regulatory matters
Compensation & Benefits
- Hiring Range (US): $221,900– $266,300 USD
- Competitive compensation package including a bonus component and stock options
- 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees
- 401K plan with a 6% employer match
- Flexibility in schedule and generous paid vacation (available immediately after start date)
- Company-wide holiday office closures
- AD+D and Life Insurance
- Sign-on payments, relocation, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package (dependent on the position offered)
Location
- Fully remote; open to candidates based anywhere in the U.S.
- Work with colleagues across multiple time zones and at Blacksburg, VA, Fort Worth, TX, and Ann Arbor, MI sites
- Occasional travel to those locations (estimated 5–10% of the time)
- Occasional international travel, including to Montreal, may come up; ability to obtain a passport is required
Additional Information
Job ID: R-102984
The organization is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Applicants are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet 100% of the listed qualifications.