Senior Legal Counsel

This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role reporting directly to the General Counsel. You'll serve as the GC's primary partner across the full range of legal matters at a growth-stage fintech, with the ability to move fluidly between commercial, product, regulatory, and corporate work. You should be equally comfortable negotiating an enterprise SaaS agreement, advising product teams on AI and data compliance, and managing outside counsel on specialized matters. This role calls for someone who takes full ownership of matters end-to-end (from first read through final resolution) and moves with urgency rather than letting issues sit.

What You'll Do

• Commercial contracts: Own and manage the full lifecycle of customer, vendor, and partner agreements, including SaaS/API agreements, data licensing, partnership arrangements, and procurement contracts driving deals through to signature independently
• Product and AI counseling: Advise engineering and product teams on legal issues related to AI/ML, document automation, data privacy, and financial data handling
• Regulatory and compliance: Support compliance with financial services regulations applicable to Ocrolus's lending customers and partners, including state lending laws, fair lending, BSA/AML, and evolving AI regulation
• Privacy and data security: Partner with InfoSec and engineering on data privacy compliance (CCPA, state privacy laws, GLBA), data processing agreements, and incident response
• Corporate and governance: Assist with corporate governance, equity matters, board materials, and other general corporate needs
• Outside counsel management: Select, direct, and manage outside counsel on specialized matters, keeping costs and timelines in check
• Legal operations: Help build and optimize scalable legal processes, proactively identifying, piloting, and rolling out new AI-powered legal tools to increase the team's speed and efficiency
• Cross-functional partnership: Serve as a trusted advisor to business leaders across sales, partnerships, finance, and product

What We're Looking For

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in good standing
• 6-10 years of legal experience , with meaningful time at both a top law firm and in-house at a technology or financial services company
• Strong commercial contracts experience , particularly with SaaS, API/data licensing, or platform agreements
• Familiarity with financial services regulation , including lending, payments, or fintech compliance (experience advising on AI in financial services is a plus)
• Data privacy and security knowledge , including practical experience with CCPA, GLBA, or similar frameworks
• Demonstrated experience using legal AI tools (e.g., contract review platforms, AI-assisted research, legal workflow automation) and a genuine enthusiasm for integrating technology into legal practice
• Ability to operate independently with sound judgment, prioritize across competing demands, and deliver practical, business-oriented advice, taking full ownership of issues through to resolution rather than escalating or deferring decisions
• High sense of urgency and comfortable making decisions quickly and driving issues to closure without being prompted or waiting for direction
• Excellent communication skills , with the ability to distill complex legal issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal stakeholders
• Comfort in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where building from scratch is part of the appeal

Nice to Have

• Experience at a fintech, lending platform, or financial data company
• Background advising on AI/ML product development or AI governance
• Experience supporting fundraising, M&A, or other corporate transactions
• Familiarity with mortgage lending or small business lending workflows

Note:

The full-time salary range for this role is between $190,000 - $220,000 + equity + benefits. Base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and market location.

Disclosure as required by N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 8-102 and 8-107(32) of the full time salary compensation range for this role when being hired into our offices in New York City.