Senior Counsel, Product and Technology

About the role

This Senior Counsel role focuses on establishing the legal infrastructure for Cohere's product development and market entry. The work involves drafting standardized contract templates and guidelines, ensuring consistency and alignment with product capabilities. A key responsibility is to provide strategic guidance on intellectual property risks, including compliance with open-source software licenses and the integration of third-party technologies.

The position requires close collaboration with product, regulatory, and commercial legal teams to identify and reduce legal risks throughout a product's lifecycle. This includes managing regulatory adherence, limiting liability exposure, and defining contractual obligations. Success in this role means proactively integrating legal input into product design, feature development, and market strategies, particularly in the lead-up to product launches.

The ideal candidate will stay informed about evolving technology regulations and assess their impact on Cohere's product offerings. This involves advising internal teams on crucial legal considerations for product development and commercialization, ensuring that the company's cutting-edge AI models and products are legally sound and compliant as they are brought to market to solve real-world business problems.

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

Skills that matter here

• legal: This role requires comprehensive legal expertise to establish frameworks for product development and commercialization.
• technology transactions: The position involves significant experience in technology contracts and agreements within the product lifecycle.
• intellectual property law: A core responsibility is managing IP risks across the product portfolio, including open-source software compliance.
• commercial agreements: The role involves creating and managing standardized templates for product contract terms to ensure consistency.
• SaaS: Experience advising enterprise software companies operating across various deployment models, including SaaS, is required.
• AI: A deep understanding of AI/ML technologies and platforms is essential for providing legal guidance on product development.

Who this role suits

• A legal professional with at least 7 years of experience in technology transactions and product counseling.
• Someone who thrives in a fast-paced technology environment, adapting to new priorities and navigating ambiguity.
• An individual with strong communication and collaboration skills, able to work effectively with both technical and business teams.
• A lawyer qualified to practice in the US, Canada, UK, or EU, with expertise in intellectual property and commercial agreements.

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.