Chainguard - Lead Counsel, Commercial
Requirements
• Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent legal qualification with active bar or solicitor membership in good standing • 10+ years of commercial legal experience, ideally combining law firm and in-house technology company experience • Currently sitting in an in-house, sell-side commercial legal role; candidates whose current focus is procurement, vendor management, or buy-side contracting are not a fit for this role • Currently managing a team of at least two legal professionals, with a track record of developing and retaining strong legal talent • Demonstrated ability to independently manage a full commercial deal cycle from negotiation through close, including complex enterprise transactions on customer paper • Strong communication skills, with the ability to distill complex legal and business issues into clear, actionable guidance for sales leaders and senior stakeholders • Working knowledge of open source licensing and compliance considerations • Proven ability to balance legal risk with business objectives while maintaining deal velocity • Experience in cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, or related technology sectors strongly preferred • Comfort leading a team through pressure, particularly during month-end and quarter-end closing periods
Responsibilities
• Lead, manage, and develop a team of US-based commercial legal professionals • Own the overall health, output, and velocity of the US commercial legal function, ensuring the team is well-resourced, well-coordinated, and operating at a high level • Serve as a hands-on commercial attorney, personally managing a portfolio of complex enterprise deals from negotiation through close • Draft, review, and negotiate the full range of commercial agreements — SaaS agreements, enterprise customer agreements, MSAs, order forms, DPAs, NDAs, and partner and channel agreements — including on complex customer paper • Partner with the global Director of Commercial Legal to align the US team's practices, playbooks, and priorities with the broader commercial legal strategy • Build and iterate on commercial playbooks, escalation frameworks, and template libraries tailored to the US market • Create and maintain self-serve resources that empower Sales, Customer Success, and other go-to-market teams to move faster with less legal friction • Negotiate directly with sophisticated customer counsel, including those at financial services, insurance, healthcare, defense, and pharmaceutical organizations • Ensure commercial agreements align with open source licensing requirements and industry best practices • Maintain familiarity with applicable US federal and state privacy laws (including CCPA/CPRA, state data breach notification requirements, and sector-specific frameworks) as they relate to commercial contracting • Partner closely with Product and Security, and other cross-functional teams to align legal guidance with business and technical objectives • Provide practical, risk-calibrated guidance to senior leadership and go-to-market stakeholders consistent with company policies and risk tolerance • Own US quarter-end and month-end closing cycles, ensuring the team has what it needs to get deals across the line on time
Benefits
• This is an opportunity to lead a team and own a function at one of the most exciting companies in the cybersecurity and open source space. You will have real authority over how Chainguard's US commercial legal team operates — setting the tone, building the playbooks, and developing the people — while staying close to the deals that drive the business. As Chainguard continues to grow, so does the opportunity for the people who helped build it. • $221,000—$260,000 USD • We live and breathe our company values: • We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better. • We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast. • We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey. • We trust each other and assume good intentions — We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions. • Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs. • Flexible & Remote-First Culture: • Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!). • Our Approach to Equity: • 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck. • 100% Covered Health Insurance: • ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset. • ∞ Flexible Time Off: • 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year. • 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: • If your experience is close but doesn't fulfill all requirements, please apply. We're building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring "Chainguardians" with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
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