Associate General Counsel
Position Overview:
The Associate General Counsel will serve as a strategic legal advisor and key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) for a rapidly growing global SaaS organization headquartered in the United States.
Reporting directly to the CFO, this role is designed for a business-minded legal leader who can help guide company strategy, identify and mitigate enterprise risk, and support organizational growth across a broad range of legal and regulatory matters.
Location: Cary, NC or Greater Boston, MA Area (onsite)
Experience: 8-10 years of legal experience, including significant in-house experience within a SaaS or technology company.
Responsibilities:
Strategic Legal Leadership & Business Partnership
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive leadership team on legal, regulatory, governance, and business risk matters.
- Participate in strategic planning and organizational decision-making as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
- Support international expansion initiatives and global operational strategies.
Privacy, Data Protection & Data Rights
- Lead the development and execution of the company's global privacy and data protection strategy in compliance with applicable privacy and data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, HIPAA, and other global frameworks.
- Establish governance frameworks surrounding data ownership, retention, usage rights, and cross-border data transfers.
- Embed privacy-by-design principles into products, AI initiatives, and data platforms.
- Oversee data subject rights programs, breach response processes, and regulatory inquiries.
Intellectual Property & Data Asset Strategy
- Advise on the protection, management, and commercialization of intellectual property assets, including software, proprietary technologies, algorithms, data assets, trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.
- Partner with Product and Engineering teams to define ownership structures and usage rights for internally developed and third-party intellectual property.
- Provide legal guidance related to artificial intelligence, machine learning models, AI-generated outputs, training data ownership, and data-derived insights.
- Support development of strategies governing data licensing, monetization, reuse, and commercialization opportunities.
- Collaborate with external counsel on intellectual property portfolio management and risk mitigation initiatives.
Compliance & Regulatory Strategy
- Design and oversee enterprise-wide compliance programs across privacy, data governance, AI governance, cybersecurity, employment practices, and digital regulations.
- Translate legal and regulatory obligations into scalable operational policies, procedures, and controls.
- Lead regulatory change management efforts across the business.
- Serve as a key point of contact for regulatory examinations, audits, external reviews, and compliance inquiries.
Risk Management & Governance
- Conduct and oversee legal, privacy, data governance, AI, intellectual property, employment, and cybersecurity risk assessments.
- Establish governance structures for emerging technologies, AI systems, data management, and information security programs.
- Lead legal support for incident response efforts involving data breaches, cybersecurity incidents, regulatory investigations, employment matters, or intellectual property disputes.
- Provide regular reporting and recommendations to executive leadership regarding enterprise risk posture and mitigation strategies.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Strategic Growth
- Support mergers, acquisitions, strategic investments, partnerships, and other corporate transactions.
- Lead legal due diligence activities and assess transactional risks.
- Advise leadership on integration planning, regulatory considerations, intellectual property ownership, privacy implications, and organizational risk associated with acquisitions.
- Partner with Finance and Corporate Development teams to evaluate strategic growth opportunities.
Employment Law & Human Capital Support
- Provide legal guidance on employment law matters in partnership with Human Resources leadership.
- Support policy development, employee relations matters, workplace investigations, workforce compliance initiatives, and global employment practices.
- Coordinate with outside counsel on specialized employment law matters as needed.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Serve as a strategic advisor to Product, Engineering, Data Science, Security, Compliance, Finance, Sales, and Operations teams.
- Enable responsible innovation by translating legal requirements into practical business and technology solutions.
- Partner closely with Information Security and IT teams on cybersecurity, governance, and risk management initiatives.
- Support contract template updates and aid in customer negotiation.
Policy, Training & Culture
- Develop and maintain enterprise policies governing privacy, data governance, intellectual property protection, AI governance, ethics, compliance, and risk management.
- Lead employee training and awareness programs related to legal compliance, privacy, data stewardship, AI governance, and intellectual property protection.
- Promote a culture of accountability, responsible innovation, and proactive risk management throughout the organization.
Required Skills & Education:
Education
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
- Active membership and good standing with at least one U.S. State Bar.
Experience
- 8-10 years of legal experience.
- Significant in-house legal experience within a SaaS, software, cloud technology, or technology-enabled business environment is required.
- Prior law firm experience strongly preferred before transitioning in-house.
- Demonstrated experience supporting executive leadership and influencing business strategy.
- Experience with global operations and multinational legal matters.
- Experience supporting M&A transactions, integrations, and corporate growth initiatives.
- Exposure to privacy, compliance, AI governance, intellectual property, employment law, and enterprise risk management.
Skills
- Strong business acumen and executive presence.
- Ability to balance legal risk with commercial objectives.
- Deep understanding of SaaS business models and technology company operations.
- Knowledge of privacy laws, AI governance, intellectual property, cybersecurity, employment law, and regulatory compliance.
- Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and communication skills.
- Ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross-functional initiatives.
- Proven ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.