Senior Counsel, Strategic Partnerships

Overview

This role involves leading strategic partnerships from initial discussions through product development, launch, and ongoing expansion within a financial technology and banking infrastructure context. The position requires ownership of partnership structures that enable fintech companies to deliver modern banking experiences while navigating complex regulatory requirements. The product suite includes accounts, payments, cards, lending, and loan participations, serving both domestic and international fintechs for consumers and businesses.

Reporting directly to the General Counsel, this role works closely with Go-to-Market, Engineering, Finance, Risk, and Compliance teams, as well as external partners. The legal team operates without silos, expecting lawyers to manage partnership launches and expansions end-to-end, supported by AI tools and Legal Operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead legal structuring and launch of bank-fintech partnerships across payments and credit products.
• Advise on a variety of financial products including line of credit, bank accounts, loan origination, multi-currency wallets, card issuance, earned wage access (EWA), buy now pay later (BNPL), and complex global money movement.
• Draft and review customer-facing terms, marketing materials, onboarding flows, and applications.
• Determine Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements and conduct regulatory analyses.
• Collaborate with engineering to design flow-of-funds models and reflect product structures in legal documentation.
• Structure, draft, and negotiate complex customer and third-party partnership agreements covering a broad range of banking products and services.
• Provide strategic legal guidance to enable product innovation, partnering with business teams and fintech partners from ideation through launch.
• Advise on product structuring and legal implications of new lending, payments features, and partnership models.
• Build and evolve regulatory frameworks for existing and new products, leveraging expertise in NACHA, money transmission, BSA/AML, TILA, Reg Z, Reg E, ECOA, UDAAP, FCRA, state usury and licensing laws, EWA, federal preemption, and true lender risk.
• Partner with compliance and risk teams to develop scalable approaches that protect the business while enabling growth.
• Serve as a subject matter expert on legal and regulatory requirements impacting banking products.
• Share insights on regulatory developments and their practical implications.
• Drive adoption of technology, including AI and automation tools, to increase efficiency and scalability of legal workflows.
• Identify opportunities to build legal tooling in partnership with engineering teams.
• Design and implement scalable legal processes to support hypergrowth.
• Improve partner onboarding efficiency while maintaining compliance.
• Develop template program agreements and disclosure packages to accelerate partnership launches.

Requirements

• Licensed to practice law in a U.S. state with a J.D. or equivalent.
• 7–15+ years of experience as a practicing lawyer.
• Priority given to candidates with both law firm and in-house experience at fintech companies and/or financial institutions.
• Deep expertise counseling product teams on banking infrastructure and embedded finance solutions, especially in consumer and/or commercial banking.
• Ability to independently draft and negotiate complex commercial agreements with strong understanding of contract law and commercial transactions.
• Comprehensive knowledge of regulatory frameworks governing banking partnerships and fintech services.
• Deep working knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements impacting payments, card, and lending products.
• Experience structuring agreements and advising on bank-fintech lending partnerships.
• Familiarity with loan sale, participation, and servicing agreements.
• Familiarity with complex cross-border money movement, global payment rails, and multi-currency wallet structures.
• Proven ability to manage a high volume, cross-functional workload without sacrificing quality or speed.
• Strong desire to work at the center of fintech and bank innovation.
• Comfortable making fast, sound, and supported risk decisions in complex legal landscapes.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual base salary range: $210,000 - $300,000 plus equity.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, including options fully covered for employees and dependents.
• Family planning and fertility benefits with reimbursement up to $20,000 in qualified expenses.
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) options.
• 401(k) plan with self-directed brokerage options.
• Flexible time-off policy.
• 100% paid parental leave: 16 weeks for birth mothers, 12 weeks for primary caregivers, 8 weeks for secondary caregivers.
• Catered lunches and dinners for employees in San Francisco.
• Commuter benefits.
• Regular team-building events including annual offsite.

Location

San Francisco, CA (implied by catered meals and commuter benefits for SF employees).

The organization is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodations are available during the application and recruiting process upon request.

The employer participates in the E-Verify program where required by law.