Commercial Counsel, Legal Architect

Commercial Counsel - Legal ArchitectLegal | Chicago, Illinois | On-siteOVERVIEWAt SRAM, the race never stops. Our components are on the bikes that contest the Tour de France, shred world-class terrain, and power riders who refuse to be ordinary. We exist to make cycling faster, more capable, and more exhilarating, and we measure our success one ride at a time.The business moves at race pace. Global manufacturing. Complex supply relationships spanning multiple continents. A sports marketing program that puts SRAM on the world's biggest cycling stages every season. Commercial partnerships that drive the brand and the bottom line simultaneously. A company that moves this fast, at this scale, deserves a dedicated commercial legal function built to match it. This role builds and owns that function.The people who make up SRAM are entrepreneurial by nature and sincere in their motivation. They move fast, they start from first principles, and they rarely take anything as given. That makes the legal work genuinely challenging in the best possible sense. Nothing here is rote. Nothing is routine. The attorney in this role will be a real partner in getting things right without losing the pace. The culture runs on interpersonal trust and integrity. Competing ideas are welcome. Politics and bureaucracy are not.The Commercial Counsel - Legal Architect is a newly created position with a clear mandate: design and build the commercial legal foundation that SRAM's growth requires, then own and operate it at the speed the business demands. That means architecting the contract infrastructure, governing the systems that handle routine volume, and personally leading the complex negotiations that require a skilled attorney, sharp judgment, and the confidence to hold a position under pressure. The counterparties are sophisticated, the deal structures are genuinely complex, and the stakes are real.As the infrastructure matures, so does the complexity of the work. This role does not hand off what it builds. It runs it, scales it, and takes on progressively more demanding commercial challenges as SRAM's global presence evolves. The right candidate is a commercially sophisticated attorney and a genuine problem-solver who is energized by complexity, wants to own something significant, and has no interest in managing something comfortable.RESPONSIBILITIESOwn the Commercial Legal InfrastructureSelect, implement, and govern a contract lifecycle management platform that gives SRAM visibility, consistency, and control across its global commercial relationshipsDesign self-service workflows that enable business teams to move at SRAM's pace on routine transactions without requiring direct lawyer involvement on every dealBuild and continuously improve the template libraries, playbooks, clause repositories, and approval frameworks that make legal infrastructure a durable business advantageBuild the system that treats every signed agreement as the starting line, not the finish: tracking what SRAM is owed, ensuring it gets delivered, and making sure nothing negotiated hard for gets quietly left behindGovern AI-assisted workflows that automate commodity legal work and redirect attorney capacity toward the problems that require real judgmentDrive adoption of standardized tools across global business functions and build the legal literacy that lets teams move confidently without constant escalationLead Complex Commercial TransactionsNegotiate and close the agreements that require a skilled attorney at the table: global manufacturing and supply relationships, distribution and channel partnerships, and the sophisticated sponsorship and sports marketing deals that define SRAM's presence in the sportServe as a cross-functional legal problem-solver across sourcing, product development, sales, and marketing, structuring deals that create value rather than simply documenting itBring decisive, well-reasoned positions to the issues that determine outcomes in commercial negotiations: IP ownership, exclusivity, warranty allocation, indemnification, and liabilityCommunicate with clarity and authority, delivering legal advice that business leaders can act on and counterparties take seriouslySupport SRAM's global supply chain and trade compliance strategy as the company's manufacturing footprint and regulatory environment continue to evolveBuild and Own the Commercial Legal FunctionWork alongside the Director of Legal to establish the processes, relationships, and institutional knowledge that a high-performing commercial legal function requires, then own and operate that function at full tempoCapture and systematize the institutional knowledge embedded in SRAM's long-standing commercial relationships, converting experience and relationships into durable organizational infrastructureEstablish the reporting, escalation, and matter management structures that give leadership confidence and keep legal operations efficient as transaction volume and complexity growScale the function with the business; as SRAM's global presence evolves, the commercial legal infrastructure and the attorney running it expand with itQUALIFICATIONSJuris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; active bar admission in at least one U.S. jurisdiction7 to 12 years of commercial legal experience; a combination of law firm training and meaningful in-house tenure is strongly preferredDemonstrated experience building or significantly improving commercial legal infrastructure, including templates, playbooks, workflow design, or contract management platform implementationStrong drafting and negotiation skills across a range of commercial agreement types, including supply, manufacturing, distribution, licensing, sponsorship, and services agreementsExperience with cross-border commercial agreements and international operations; European commercial law and manufacturing contexts are a meaningful plusGenuine enthusiasm for legal technology and AI-assisted workflows, with the systems design instinct to build for scale rather than solve one problem at a timeAbility to translate legal complexity into clear, direct business guidance that non-lawyers can act on without follow-upHigh initiative and genuine comfort with ambiguity; this role requires a lawyer who generates direction, not one who waits for itCommercial mindset that treats risk as something to be managed intelligently, not avoided at the cost of the dealWORKING CONDITIONSOn-site in Chicago, Illinois; this is not a remote or hybrid roleWillingness to travel domestically and internationally as business needs requirePassion for cycling or the competitive sports industry is a genuine differentiator at SRAMCOMPENSATIONBase salary: $175,000, with the potential to reach $225,000 for highly experienced candidates Eligible for annual corporate bonus based on company and individual performanceComprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance; 401(k) with company match; life and disability insurance; and paid time offRequisition ID4182- Posted08/20/2026-Employee-State/Province (1)IllinoisLocation for Job Posting (1)United StatesCity (1)Chicago