Senior Counsel, Product (Base)

Overview

An organization is seeking an exceptional attorney to join their Product Legal team, dedicated to supporting an incubated Base Layer 2 blockchain. This role involves navigating complex, first-of-a-kind blockchain and Base-related product initiatives, providing operational support, and ensuring seamless integration and compliance of integrated and base-native products within the Base L2 ecosystem. The attorney will collaborate closely with other legal team members and cross-functional stakeholders to address challenging matters influencing blockchain technology and innovation.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Base-specific product legal counsel, building the legal foundation to support the onchain mission and strategy.
• Oversee legal processes related to funding and supporting innovative projects within the Base grants ecosystem.
• Facilitate integration of both internal and third-party services and products in the Base ecosystem, ensuring adherence to legal standards and regulatory expectations.
• Conduct due diligence, draft compliance policies, and provide guidance on risk management related to Base product integration.
• Provide full product life-cycle counseling and act as a business partner.
• Anticipate and creatively solve problems as the business plans, builds, and executes its product roadmap.
• Identify issues beyond personal expertise and collaborate with other legal team members and outside counsel to resolve them.
• Work cross-departmentally with Compliance, Communications, Finance, Tax, Security, Enterprise Risk Management, Engineering, Data, Analytics, Corporate Development, and leadership.
• Respond promptly to complex legal requests and coordinate with the legal department to deliver practical advice.
• Operate effectively in a fast-paced, demanding environment and adapt quickly to leadership needs.
• Scale legal advice to support efficient business growth.

Requirements

• Licensed attorney in a U.S. state with a J.D. or equivalent and a minimum of 5 years of legal experience.
• Strong substantive practice and practical experience in crypto, web3, DeFi, protocols, or blockchain.
• Experience counseling product teams on launching consumer or developer-facing technology products and services.
• Interest or experience in digital currency, blockchain technology, and decentralized finance constructs.
• Understanding of legal and regulatory considerations affecting crypto protocols and onchain products, including decentralized architectures and onchain workflows.
• Experience supporting Anti Money Laundering (AML)/Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements and regulated e-money and money transmission obligations under banking laws.
• Proven problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent legal judgment with analytic rigor, prudential risk assessment, and a balance of creativity and pragmatism.
• Comfortable with risk-adjusted thinking and interpretive flexibility.
• Team-oriented and collaborative, able to engage cross-departmental colleagues and enable clients to build and launch crypto products successfully.

Preferred Qualifications

• Technology or engineering background (Bachelor of Science).
• Experience working with protocols, rollups, Layer 2 solutions such as Bitcoin Core, Ethereum Foundation, Polygon, Solana, or Optimism.
• Financial technology experience is preferred but not required.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary range: $224,995 USD - $264,700 USD annually.
• Total compensation includes bonus eligibility, equity eligibility, and benefits such as medical, dental, vision, and 401(k).

Location & Work Environment

• The role is remote-first but not remote-only; in-person participation is required throughout the year.
• Team and company-wide offsites are held multiple times annually, with attendance expected and supported.

Equal Opportunity & Accommodations

The organization is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sex, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other protected status. Reasonable accommodations are provided for individuals with disabilities throughout the employment process upon request.