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Databases are the beating heart of every business in the world.

Cockroach Labs is the team behind CockroachDB, an open-source, distributed SQL database. We aim to build infrastructure that keeps pace with the world, so developers can focus on what matters most: building the best products. Join us on our mission to Make Data Easy. Are you ready to aim high and build to last?

About the Role

The Associate General Counsel, Commercial & Product will be an early member of the Legal team at Cockroach Labs and play a large role in shaping the Legal organization. You will be responsible for a broad portfolio of cutting-edge and complex cross-border licensing, product development, and contractual matters. You will be a trusted partner to the Revenue and Product teams and develop a deep understanding of Cockroach Labs’ product and strategy. You will work closely with internal clients at all levels of leadership to assess legal and business risks and make sound decisions under tight deadlines. The Associate General Counsel will be on the ground floor of a newly formed function at a high-growth startup and will have significant opportunities for growth.

You Will

• Lead complex, cross-border, commercial negotiations with some of the biggest brands in technology, e-commerce, banking, and other industries.
• Build best-in-class runbooks and processes to allow our rapidly growing sales team to scale their go-to-market efforts quickly and responsibly.
• Partner with operations teams to drive more efficient use of legal resources in sales efforts.
• Support Product and Engineering teams in developing and launching new products and features.
• Ensure compliance with a variety of laws and regulations impacting database offerings, including intellectual property, privacy, security, and government contracting.
• Continually improve our standard form agreements and online T&Cs, legal processes, policies, and training.

The Expectations

In your first 30 days, you will develop a strong understanding of our product offerings and the structure of our various internal functions. You will meet and begin to develop relationships with leaders within our Revenue, Product, and Finance organizations. You will become very familiar with our contracts and policies. You will begin drafting and negotiating various customer contracts.

In your first 60 days, you will have a firmer understanding of Cockroach Labs’ Revenue and Product teams’ legal needs. You will begin to integrate more closely with the Revenue and Product functions, attending various of their team meetings and meeting with functional leaders. You will lead negotiations of various of our commercial contracts and begin developing legal requirements for our existing and future products. You will begin identifying areas of improvement for legal support, including new internal policies, processes, and updates to our customer-facing T&Cs.

After 3 months, you'll be fully integrated into the team. You will be working on the legal team’s core priorities and start identifying new opportunities for the team’s initiatives. You will closely track functional objectives and plan ahead to ensure legal is prepared to effectively support those objectives where needed. You will regularly liaise with key stakeholders in Cockroach’s Revenue and Product functions.

You Have

• Experience successfully supporting fast-moving sales teams to close complex cross-border enterprise software licenses and SaaS contracts with large enterprise customers (experience negotiating with financial institutions is a plus).
• A proven track record of working with product and engineering teams to bring innovative new products to market (familiarity with open source licensing is a plus).
• Working knowledge of intellectual property, international contracting, data governance, and privacy matters.
• Experience identifying and implementing new processes and systems to drive operational efficiencies.
• Excellent negotiating skills with both legal and financial/commercial issues.
• Exceptional interpersonal and presentation skills and an ability to communicate effectively with others at all levels of the organization.
• An entrepreneurial spirit and passion for technology and team building.
• Ability to offer clear and concise business-minded guidance around legal issues.
• Minimum 5 years experience at a top-tier law firm and in-house legal department. Prior tech experience is a plus.
• Member in good standing of the New York state bar or eligible to register as in-house counsel in New York State.

The Team

Reporting to Dan Hegwood - General Counsel

Dan has always been passionate about technology and is dedicated to building legal teams that empower and amplify inventive businesses and products rather than constrain it. At Cockroach Labs, Dan is dedicated to building a Legal function that achieves these goals. Dan has experience building legal teams in high growth tech environments and has a strong understanding of privacy and big data issues. Dan enjoys mentoring attorneys on his team and is proud that many of the lawyers he previously managed went on to General Counsel and other leadership roles at other tech companies. In his spare time, Dan loves spending quality time with his young kids, traveling, cooking and doing anything outdoors in nature.

Our Benefits

• 100% health insurance coverage (for you and your dependents!)
• Paid parental leave (with baby bucks)
• Flex Fridays
• Flexible time off & flexible hours
• Education reimbursement
• Relocation support

Cockroach Labs is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer, building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please email us at accessibility@cockroachlabs.com.