Legal Counsel - Commercial Transactions & Technology (Hybrid Preferred, Open to Remote)

Company Description

Penguin Random House is the leading adult and children's publishing house in North America, the United Kingdom and many other regions around the world. In publishing the best books in every genre and subject for all ages, we are committed to quality, excellence in execution, and innovation throughout the entire publishing process: editorial, design, marketing, publicity, sales, production, and distribution. Our vibrant and diverse international community of nearly 300 publishing brands and imprints include Ballantine Bantam Dell, Berkley, Clarkson Potter, Crown, DK, Doubleday, Dutton, Grosset & Dunlap, Little Golden Books, Knopf, Modern Library, Pantheon, Penguin Books, Penguin Press, Penguin Random House Audio, Penguin Young Readers, Portfolio, Puffin, Putnam, Random House, Random House Children's Books, Riverhead, Ten Speed Press, Viking, and Vintage, among others. More information can be found at

Job Description

Penguin Random House, home to genre-defining children’s literature, world-renowned authors, and culture-shaping works, is seeking an experienced, business-minded Legal Counsel to join its Legal Department.

This role serves as a trusted legal advisor to the company’s technology, digital, marketing, corporate, and operational teams. The successful candidate will provide practical, strategic, and solution-oriented legal counsel across a broad range of commercial transactions, technology initiatives, artificial intelligence, privacy, cybersecurity, compliance, and corporate governance matters.

This position is ideal for an attorney who enjoys partnering with business stakeholders to enable innovation while effectively managing legal and regulatory risk. The role requires strong commercial judgment, excellent drafting and negotiation skills, and the ability to advise on rapidly evolving legal and regulatory issues affecting technology and digital business operations.

Key Responsibilities

Commercial Transactions & Technology

• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a broad range of commercial agreements, including:
  • SaaS and software licensing agreements
  • Cloud services agreements
  • Technology procurement and implementation agreements
  • AI and machine learning vendor agreements
  • Data processing agreements
  • Professional services and consulting agreements
  • Digital platform and marketplace agreements
  • Marketing, advertising, advertising technology, sponsorship, licensing, and partnership agreements
  • Vendor, distribution, production, and confidentiality agreements.
• Develop and maintain scalable contract templates, playbooks, and negotiation guidance to improve efficiency and consistency across the business.
• Partner with procurement, IT, information security, marketing, finance, HR, and business teams on strategic technology initiatives.

Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies

• Advise business stakeholders on the responsible procurement, deployment, and governance of generative AI and other emerging technologies.
• Draft and negotiate AI-related contractual provisions addressing intellectual property, confidentiality, data usage, model training, bias, transparency, security, and regulatory compliance.
• Help develop and maintain enterprise AI governance policies, standards, and internal guidance.
• Monitor evolving domestic and international AI laws and regulations and translate legal developments into practical business guidance.

Privacy, Data Protection & Information Governance

• Advise on privacy, data governance, cybersecurity, and information management matters affecting the company’s operations.
• Counsel business teams on compliance with applicable privacy laws and regulations, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, state privacy laws, and other emerging data protection requirements.
• Review data collection, sharing, retention, marketing, and digital product practices for legal compliance.
• Support incident response activities and advise on contractual obligations relating to cybersecurity and data breaches.

Compliance & Corporate Governance

• Partner with compliance, information security, procurement, finance, and business leadership to strengthen governance frameworks and enterprise risk management.
• Develop, implement, and update company policies relating to technology use, AI, privacy, records management, and regulatory compliance.
• Conduct legal risk assessments for new products, digital initiatives, and strategic partnerships.
• Deliver legal training and educational programs on technology, AI, privacy, ethics, and compliance topics.
• Assist with internal investigations and compliance initiatives as needed.

Qualifications

Required

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
• Member in good standing of at least one U.S. State Bar.
• 3–5 years of legal experience in a law firm and/or in-house legal department.
• Significant experience negotiating complex commercial and technology agreements.
• Demonstrated experience advising on SaaS, software licensing, cloud services, technology procurement, and IT transactions.
• Strong knowledge of commercial contracting, intellectual property, privacy, and technology law.
• Working knowledge of privacy and data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, state privacy laws, and cybersecurity-related contractual requirements.
• Excellent drafting, negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical ability and sound legal judgment with a practical, business-oriented approach to problem solving.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities independently in a fast-paced environment.

Preferred

• In-house experience supporting technology, digital media, publishing, entertainment, or consumer-facing businesses.
• Experience advising on AI governance, responsible AI deployment, and emerging technology regulation.
• Familiarity with software development, cloud infrastructure, information security, and procurement processes.
• Experience supporting enterprise compliance programs, governance initiatives, and regulatory risk management.
• Experience with marketing technology, ad tech, digital platforms, and consumer-facing products.
• Experience leading strategic legal projects and developing scalable legal operations tools and processes.

Success Profile

The successful candidate is a collaborative, pragmatic attorney who builds trusted relationships across the organization and balances legal risk with business objectives. They are intellectually curious, adaptable, and comfortable advising on rapidly evolving technologies and regulatory developments. They enjoy creating practical solutions, improving processes, and helping the business innovate responsibly while maintaining strong governance and compliance standards.

Additional Information

The Penguin Random House national headquarters is located in New York City. This position is open to remote candidates who are based in the United States and can work on Eastern time.

The salary for this position is $140,000 - $160,000. All positions are currently eligible for annual profit award or bonus, subject to Company results.

We encourage you to apply early, as we review applications on a rolling basis. Please include your resume and cover letter for consideration. Before applying for any role at Penguin Random House, we recommend you review our applicant resources page and our FAQs page.

Penguin Random House job postings include a good faith compensation range for each open position. The salary range listed is specific to each particular open position and takes into account various factors including the specifics of the individual role, and candidate's relevant experience and qualifications.

Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits include, but are not limited to, Medical/Prescription drug insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account, Pre-Tax and Roth 401(k), Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, Commuter Benefits, Student Loan Repayment Program, Educational Assistance & generous paid time off.

Penguin Random House values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Disclosure requirements pertaining to the collection of your personal data:

Responsible for processing the information provided in your application is the company specified in the job advertisement, with its registered office as indicated. The company processes your data for the purpose of establishing an employment relationship on the basis of Art. 6 (1) b GDPR / Section 26 (1) sentence 1 BDSG.

The retention period for your data is determined by the statutory time limits applicable in the respective country, beginning upon completion of the recruitment process. You can find these here.

You can contact the company’s Data Protection Officer at the above-mentioned postal address.

Further information on data protection and your rights can be found here.

We value the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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