Senior Counsel, Product and Technology

About the role

This Senior Counsel position focuses on establishing the legal infrastructure for Cohere's AI products. The role involves developing standardized contract templates and guidelines, ensuring consistency and efficiency in product terms. A key responsibility is to provide strategic guidance on intellectual property risks, including open source software compliance and third-party integrations, to protect the company's product portfolio.

The successful candidate will identify and reduce legal risks throughout the entire product lifecycle. This includes working closely with regulatory and commercial legal teams to manage compliance, liability, and contractual obligations. The role also requires coordinating legal input for product launches and collaborating with product managers, engineers, and business development teams from the early stages of product design.

Success in this role means staying informed about technology regulations and their impact on product development and commercialization. The Senior Counsel will advise internal teams on crucial legal considerations for product development, feature design, and market strategy. This involves operating effectively within a fast-paced technology environment, adapting to changing priorities, and navigating complex legal landscapes.

The annual salary for this position ranges from $265,000 to $330,000 USD.

Skills that matter here

• legal: This role requires a qualified lawyer with admission to practice in the US, Canada, UK, or EU, focusing on product and technology law.
• technology transactions: The position involves significant experience in technology transactions, including drafting and negotiating commercial agreements for product development.
• intellectual property law: The counsel will manage IP risks across the product portfolio, including open source software compliance and third-party integrations.
• commercial agreements: Expertise in commercial agreements is essential for creating standardized contract terms and managing contractual obligations for products.
• SaaS: Experience advising enterprise software companies operating with SaaS deployment models is required.
• AI: A deep understanding of AI/ML technologies and platforms is necessary to provide legal advice tailored to Cohere's products.

Who this role suits

• A legal professional with at least seven years of experience in technology transactions and product counseling.
• Someone who can operate effectively in a dynamic, rapidly evolving technology company.
• An individual who excels at collaborating with diverse technical and business teams.
• A lawyer with a strong background in software development lifecycles and technology integration.

From the employer

• Create standardized templates, playbooks, and guidelines for product contract terms to improve efficiency and consistency, and ensure alignment with product capabilities.
• Provide strategic guidance on and manage intellectual property risks across Cohere’s product portfolio, including open source software (OSS) compliance and third-party software integration.
• Identify and mitigate legal risks throughout the product lifecycle, working closely with product regulatory and commercial counsel to manage regulatory compliance, liability exposure, and contractual obligations.
• Quarterback Legal input ahead of product launches, collaborating with internal and external legal counsel.
• Partner with product managers, engineers, and business development teams to provide early legal input on product design, feature development, and market strategy.
• Stay current on relevant technology regulations and assess their impact on product development and commercialization.
• Advise internal teams on key legal considerations for product development and commercialization.

• 7+ years of legal experience, with significant in-house or law firm experience in technology transactions and product counseling.
• Qualified as a lawyer with admission to practice in the US, Canada, UK, or EU.
• Proven expertise in technology contracts, intellectual property law, and commercial agreements.
• Experience advising enterprise software companies operating across various deployment models (SaaS, Cloud, and On-prem).
• Deep understanding of software development lifecycles, product roadmaps, and technology integration.
• Experience with open source software compliance and third-party technology integration.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills to work effectively with technical and business teams.
• Deep understanding of AI/ML technologies and platforms.
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced technology company, adapting to new priorities, and navigating ambiguity.

• A weekly lunch stipend of $75/£75 or equivalent in your local currency for lunch.
• Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget for mental health.
• RRSP matching, 401K, Pension Scheme.
• 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months, for either parent.
• Annual enrichment benefits:
• Arts & culture, fitness/wellness, quality time, and a workspace improvement credit.
• Education & learning stipend for conferences, courses, and coaching.
• 6 weeks of paid vacation (30 working days!)
• Budget for traveling to other offices if you are remote, plus an annual company offsite.