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Senior Counsel

Remote - US

Open Source has taken over the world of software development; however, the largest trade-off still persists: security. Companies spend an enormous amount of time and resources patching and fortifying open source software in order to ship with confidence & compliance. 

Founded by the industry's leading experts on open source software, security and cloud native development, Chainguard has built the largest library of open source software that is secure by default. Customers including Snowflake, Canva, and HPE rely on Chainguard to build securely with open source software across the organization.

Chainguard is the safe source for open source.

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

We are customer obsessed - Our true advantage is the strength of our relationships with customers through collaboration, empathy, and responsiveness.  We establish trust as we educate, advocate, and listen to their needs.  Our focus is on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better. 

We have a bias for intentional action - We’re a start-up and we need to move fast. However we need to move fast through intentional action to make sure we’re able to deliver quickly and efficiently on what is most impactful to our collective success.  We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.  We think about how what we do impacts other teams and communicate our progress - owning the whole solution from start to finish. If we move fast enough, we can make two or three mistakes, learn, and correct them before competitors even make their first decision.

We don’t take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) - Though we are solving an important problem which takes focus and a degree of seriousness, we don’t take ourselves too seriously while we do.  We laugh, have fun, embrace uniqueness, and enjoy the journey. Together.

We trust each other and assume good intentions - We hire great team members and trust them to do their work. We’re transparent with data, news, and decisions - positive or negative - to empower team members to make well informed decisions. Showing up for each other fully means we celebrate each other’s accomplishments as well as give compassionate direct feedback when needed.  We always default to assuming good intentions.

The role, in a nutshell:

We are looking for a Senior Counsel with a versatile skill set to provide comprehensive legal support across various facets of our business whose primary focus will be on supporting our Go To Market Function. In addition to a strong commercial background, this role requires a solid understanding of open source licensing and compliance to ensure that our company operates in accordance with industry best practices. We are looking for someone who wants to work at an early-stage company, and is excited by the opportunity to truly roll up their sleeves.

What you’ll do:

  • Draft, review, and negotiate various commercial agreements, including customer agreements, NDAs, vendor contracts, license agreements, and partnership agreements, and ensure that all commercial agreements adequately protect the company’s interests, improve processes, and increase scalability. 
  • Ensure contracts align with open source licensing requirements when applicable.
  • Manage agreements and business activities to comply with company policies and risk tolerance.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure that legal and business objectives are aligned and met.
  • Provide general legal support to the legal department and the business on an as-needed basis. 

What we're looking for:

  • Juris Doctor (JD) degree from an accredited law school.
  • 5+  years of commercial legal experience, ideally with a blend of laŵ firm and in-house experience.
  • Strong experience in drafting, negotiation, and managing professional services agreements, software as a service agreements, and business agreements
  • Experience working with technology companies, especially in the cybersecurity sectors is a plus.
  • Ability to manage several simultaneous projects under deadline pressure
  • Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills with a strong attention to detail.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
  • Knowledge of industry-specific regulations and best practices is a plus.

Base Salary Range

$166,500 - $203,500 USD

A few of the benefits we offer (for our full time employees):

  • Equity/stock options
  • Unlimited PTO
  • Remote work with flexible coworking and team meetup opportunities
  • Home office and internet stipend
  • 100% health/dental/vision insurance coverage for you and your family
  • Monthly Wellness budget

If your experience is close but doesn’t fulfill all requirements, please apply. Chainguard is on a mission to build the best team. To achieve our goal, we are focused on hiring “Guardians'' with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.

Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

For US based roles - Chainguard participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with employee Form I-9 Information to confirm authorization to work in the U.S. Chainguard, Inc. only uses E-Verify once a candidate has accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9. If E-Verify cannot confirm that an employee is authorized to work, Chainguard, Inc. will give the employee written instructions and an opportunity to contact the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so the employee can begin to resolve the issue before any adverse employment action is taken. For more information about your right to work, please see the Notice of Right to Work.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard’s Privacy Policy.

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