GitHub is seeking an experienced attorney to join our Cybersecurity and Online Safety team within GitHub’s Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) team. This is a unique opportunity to join a dynamic team on critical issues of company-wide and international importance. You will play a key role in how GitHub defines, enforces, and communicates our online safety policies applicable to developer code and content hosted on GitHub’s online services.
Our company
GitHub is the world’s largest platform for software developers and software development: Over 83 million people use GitHub to build amazing things together across more than 200 million repositories, and trust GitHub to securely host their code, their personal information, and software collaboration. We make it easier for developers to work together, to solve challenging problems, and to create the world’s most important technologies to advance human progress.
GitHub is also growing rapidly, with our product innovation, customer base, and global presence all seeing significant acceleration. Commercial and public sector customers are also increasingly turning to GitHub to tap the developer innovation on our platform and help them digitally transform how they build software.
Our team
GitHub CELA is an innovative team of professionals, located across the U.S. and around the world, who collaborate remotely, working closely together and across the business. The CELA team operates on the cutting edge of legal practice, developer policy, and social impact. Like the rest of the software world, we use GitHub itself to work more collaboratively, transparently, and efficiently. We believe strongly in working from first principles, practicing kindness and helping make each other and the team better, and being careful stewards of the unique GitHub culture we are developing together. We value diversity of thought and experience, excellence and rigor in our work, growth mindset and continuous improvement, cultivating a deep understanding of our products and services, intellectual curiosity, a passion for technology, and innovation in our practice. We require strong bias for driving results, and a commitment to prioritizing developer and customer trust in our platform.
Responsibilities:
- Research, review, issue-spot and provide counsel to GitHub’s Trust & Safety specialists in their review and response to notices regarding illegal content hosted on GitHub.
- Communicate with developers and other external stakeholders on resolution of claims regarding illegal content.
- Support legal, business, engineering, litigation, and advocacy functions on a broad range of issues impacting digital safety within GitHub’s online services.
- Work with subject matter experts and outside counsel on a range of multi-disciplinary online safety issues impacting code and content uploaded to and distributed by developers on our platforms, including data privacy, cybersecurity, copyright, human rights, lawful access, and responsible AI among others.
- Act as GitHub’s primary legal contact for compliance with regulations addressing illegal and harmful content worldwide, including legal advice and support for developing related internal operational processes.
- Contribute to the preparation and publication of GitHub’s transparency report.
- Collaborate with CELA, other GitHub teams, and, where appropriate, outside counsel and GitHub stakeholders on all of the above, driving consensus with them when needed.
Minimum qualifications:
- J.D. or equivalent and a license to practice law in the United States
- 7+ years of relevant legal experience
- 2+ years’ experience as in-house counsel supporting consumer technology products and services, with demonstrated experience in one or more of the following areas: content moderation, trust and safety, platform liability, regulatory interpretation
- Demonstrated knowledge of current events, political trends, and technology policy issues
- Demonstrated success in issue spotting, problem solving, and the ability to be agile through periods of rapid change
- Demonstrated commitment to provide high quality client service and a strong desire to build trusted advisor relationships with key clients and executives
Preferred qualifications:
- Law firm experience + in-house experience
- Familiarity with using GitHub.com and its collaboration features
- Familiarity with the open source software ecosystem
- Experience interpreting and applying the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- A joy and passion for legal drafting that is clear, concise, and human readable, including an ability to simply describe complex legal and technical scenarios
- Experience with content moderation regulations outside of the United State
- A proven track record of success on cross-team collaborations, an ability to influence without explicit authority, and driving issues to closure
- A proven track record of success on cross-team collaborations, an ability to influence without explicit authority, and driving issues to closure
- High standards of integrity, a commitment to personal excellence, strong judgment, and intellectual curiosity that takes your understanding, work product and client relationships to the next level
- A desire and ability to perform as part of a diverse and inclusive team, and to foster a spirit of diversity, inclusion, and belonging across CELA
- Legal authorization to work in the United States
- Tailored cover letter and résumé
(Colorado only*) Minimum salary of $89,200 to maximum $189,300 + bonus + equity + benefits.
· Note: Disclosure as required by sb19-085 (8-5-20) of the minimum salary compensation for this role when being hired in Colorado.
Location: In this role, you can work remotely from anywhere in the United States or onsite in one of GitHub’s U.S. offices (San Francisco, Bellevue, Raleigh).
