Vice President Legal

Job Description

Job Description

VICE PRESIDENT, LEGAL

ABOUT THE ROLE & SALARY.COM

Salary.com is the leading provider of compensation intelligence, software, data, and services that help organizations make smarter workforce decisions. For more than 25 years, we have helped employers attract, retain, and reward talent through trusted compensation data and innovative technology. As we look to the future, Salary is expanding its AI capabilities and global reach. And part of that journey includes adding a strategic legal leader to help shape the future of the company at this pivotal moment.

The Vice President, Legal will have a meaningful voice in company strategy, product innovation, governance, and growth. This role is designed for a legal leader who wants to influence business outcomes, build scalable programs, and help guide the responsible use of technology in the future of work. The ideal candidate is passionate about leveraging technology and artificial intelligence ("AI") to modernize legal operations, improve business outcomes, and create measurable value at Salary.

• This position is located out of our Headquarters office located in Waltham, MA and is hybrid requiring two days a week in the office.
• Base Salary Range: $200,000 - $220,000 plus a 20% bonus potential 

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Executive and Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to the CEO and executive leadership team.
• Provide practical, business-oriented counsel on strategic initiatives, growth opportunities, partnerships, enterprise risk management, and acquisitions.
• Develop legal strategies that support company objectives while appropriately managing risk.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators ("KPIs") for the legal function that demonstrate business impact, operational efficiency, risk reduction, and alignment with company objectives.
• Present significant legal, regulatory, and compliance matters to executive leadership and the Board.

AI, Product, and Innovation

• Lead Salary's legal and compliance strategy related to AI, machine learning, data usage, and emerging technologies.
• Develop and maintain AI governance frameworks, policies, and responsible-use standards across the entire company.
• Evaluate and implement emerging legal technologies, including AI-powered legal tools, to improve productivity, enhance legal service delivery, and reduce dependence on external counsel where appropriate.
• Partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Security to support the development and deployment of innovative AI-enabled products.
• Advise on evolving AI regulations, industry standards, and emerging legal risks affecting HR technology and SaaS businesses.
• Help translate legal and regulatory developments into product opportunities and competitive advantages.
• Partner with product and business leaders to develop legally compliant strategies for the commercialization, licensing, and monetization of Salary's proprietary datasets, benchmarking information, analytics, and AI-enabled offerings.

Privacy, Compliance, and Risk Management

• Lead Salary's global privacy programs.
• Advise on GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, cross-border data transfers, and other global privacy requirements.
• Oversee privacy initiatives, policies, investigations, training programs, and risk management processes.
• Be responsible for all required privacy certifications, monitoring, required internal documentation, and DSAR requests.

Employment and Workforce Matters

• Advise leadership and Human Resources on employment law matters, workforce strategy, executive compensation, investigations, and employee relations issues.
• Counsel the business on legal considerations related to AI-enabled workplaces, workforce analytics, compensation transparency, and evolving labor and employment regulations.
• Partner with HR leaders on policies, training, and compliance initiatives.

Corporate Governance

• Lead corporate governance activities, including Board and committee support.
• Manage corporate records, governance policies, and entity compliance requirements.
• Advise executive leadership on governance best practices and fiduciary obligations.
• Support domestic and international subsidiary governance activities.

Intellectual Property

• Develop and oversee the company's intellectual property strategy, including the identification, protection, and monetization of strategic data assets, AI innovations, trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and patents.

Commercial Support

• Oversee commercial contracting strategy and risk management processes while delegating day-to-day contract review and negotiation activities to internal legal team members.
• Build and maintain scalable legal processes, contract playbooks, self-service tools, approval frameworks, and operational workflows.

Legal Operations

• Develop a technology-enabled legal function that leverages automation, AI, and best-in-class legal technology platforms to increase efficiency and optimize legal spend.
• Lead and develop the legal team, including counsel and paralegal staff.
• Build and maintain scalable legal operations, including contract playbooks, self-service tools, automation technologies, approval frameworks, and operational workflows designed to enable business growth while minimizing legal bottlenecks.

Outside Counsel Management

• Select, manage, and evaluate outside counsel across all legal disciplines.
• Establish clear budgets, performance expectations, and spend management practices.
• Ensure the company receives high-quality, business-focused legal support in a cost-effective manner.
• Continuously evaluate opportunities to insource work, leverage technology, and optimize outside counsel utilization to improve cost efficiency and service quality.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

The ideal candidate is a thoughtful and pragmatic legal executive who enjoys partnering with business leaders, influencing strategy, solving complex problems, and helping innovative technology companies scale responsibly.

Required Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited US law school.
• Active membership in good standing with at least one US state bar and eligibility to provide legal services to a US-based company headquartered in Massachusetts.
• Demonstrated success advising executive leadership teams on strategic legal and business matters within technology, SaaS, data, or software businesses.
• Experience leading legal teams, managing outside counsel, owning legal department budgets and priorities, and establishing departmental and cross-functional KPIs.
• Strong knowledge of privacy, data governance, technology law, intellectual property, corporate governance, data commercialization, and commercial legal issues.
• Demonstrated experience implementing legal technology solutions and leveraging AI to improve legal department efficiency and effectiveness.
• Ability to manage, prioritize, scale, and operationalize substantive legal knowledge so that the Legal Department becomes strategic and accretive to Salary and not a departmental silo.
• Excellent judgment, executive presence, communication skills, and business acumen.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience advising B2B SaaS companies developing or deploying artificial intelligence technologies, especially in regulated sectors.
• Deep familiarity with AI governance, AI regulation, and responsible AI frameworks.
• Significant experience with global privacy laws and international data-transfer requirements.
• Experience supporting Boards of Directors and corporate governance activities.
• Experience managing intellectual property portfolios, including trade secrets, copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
• Experience supporting international operations, subsidiaries, and cross-border governance matters.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, strategic investments, or other corporate transactions.
• Experience leading post-merger integration efforts from a legal, governance, compliance, or operational perspective.
• Engagement with professional in-house counsel organizations such as ACC, TechGC, or similar legal leadership communities.

The Vice President, Legal will initially report to the CEO and lead Salary's legal function, including management of legal personnel and outside counsel.

Remote candidates are welcome.

SALARY.COM PERKS...

• Awesome co-workers, exciting atmosphere, and a modern, bright workspace!
• 10 paid holidays and generous paid vacation time
• Free on-site lunches snacks, and beverages
• Cell phone reimbursement
• Robust benefit plan including Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability coverage
• 401K with 6% Company match

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristic. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities.