Senior Legal Counsel
OpenZeppelin
Salary undisclosed
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Description
About us
OpenZeppelin is the security standard onchain finance is built on. Founded in 2015, our mission is to accelerate the world's transition to an open financial system, built on open standards and secured by rigorous research.
Our open-source Contract Libraries have facilitated over $35 trillion in onchain value and are used by 10 of the top 10 tokenized money market funds and 9 of the top 10 stablecoins by market cap.
We combine AI-native security tooling with deep research and a decade of audit expertise to support leading institutions and crypto-native teams shaping the next generation of digital assets like DTCC, Fidelity, Coinbase, Uniswap, Aave, the Ethereum Foundation, and many more across the full secure development lifecycle.
Please note: Always refer to OpenZeppelin's official job page for the most accurate information about our open roles, as we have seen multiple third party job sites posting inaccurate information.
Senior Legal Counsel
OpenZeppelin is seeking an experienced and commercially-minded lawyer to support our wide array of legal matters at a growth-stage blockchain security company enabling the world to move on-chain. You’ll be a member of our dynamic operations team and report to OpenZeppelin’s Associate General Counsel, managing all legal operations and driving our commercial contracting process. You will also have the opportunity to advise on the wide-range of legal issues typical for a remote and global tech company, balancing legal issues with Company values and strategic objectives. This is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself at the intersection of blockchain technology, high-growth business operations and law.
What You'll Do:
- Draft, negotiate, and close a wide variety of agreements and manage the process behind all client and vendor agreements. You will support all commercial and contractual matters and deal flow for OpenZeppelin
- Proactively provide risk-weighted advice to business leaders that succinctly balances commercial upside against corresponding legal, financial, operational, and reputational risk
- Collaborate with and support the General Counsel on intellectual property strategy and licensing (with a focus on open source issues), privacy, compliance, acquisitions, and other diverse matters
- Work across cross-functional teams as a business partner, including Sales, Finance, Operations, HR and IT & Security
- Design and execute automated processes for contracting and complying with contractual obligations and building automations, using AI and advanced tools
- Design and execute staff trainings and compliance practices on a variety of topics, in line with the requirements of a regulated and publicly-traded organization
- Manage legal records and organize corporate governance processes for entities in multiple jurisdictions
- Tackle projects assigned to you to help the Company meet its goals and take ownership of projects that are of a personal interest to you
What You'll Bring:
- 8-10 years of relevant legal experience, including in-house experience at a high-growth company in the blockchain and digital assets space
- Demonstrated experience and comprehensive knowledge in drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide variety of commercial agreements in the blockchain space, including open source expertise
- Highly analytical with an impeccable attention to detail
- Creative problem-solving and negotiation skills and you take a pragmatic, business-minded approach to legal analyses and risk assessments
- Comfortable with high levels of responsibility and self-direction with excellent follow-through skills, and able to handle multiple projects simultaneously
- Expert communicator, verbally and in writing, who is capable of explaining complicated topics to those without legal training
- A law degree and a license to practice law in at least one jurisdiction
Benefits
- Meet your teammates at company gatherings around the world 😎
- Enjoy the flexibility of fully remote work 🌎
- Take the time you need with flexible time off 🏝
- Grow your family with 8 weeks of paid leave for primary caregivers, 4 weeks for secondary caregivers, and a one-time $3,600 baby bonus 💙
- Build your ideal home office with up to $500 in equipment support 🪑
- Stay covered with medical insurance 🏥
- Keep growing with learning and development opportunities 🧠
- Get a monthly stipend for your preferred co-working space 💻
At OpenZeppelin, we are an equal opportunity employer and we value different perspectives. We are committed to building a diverse workforce. This includes but is not limited to gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, national origin and other characteristics that make each one of us unique. In this uniqueness, we find the most value. Come join us!
Use of AI as part of the recruiting process
As part of OpenZeppelin’s recruitment process, we may use automated tools, including artificial intelligence, to assist in reviewing applications and assessing candidate qualifications. These tools are used to support our People team by identifying relevant skills and experience, and are not used to make decisions solely by automated means. All hiring decisions involve human review. Any personal data provided as part of your application will be processed in accordance with OpenZeppelin’s Data Privacy Notice.
If you have questions about this recruitment process or would like to request human review of your application, please contact us at talent@openzeppelin.com.
Benefits
- health insurance
- remote work
- professional development
About this role
OpenZeppelin is looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to manage its commercial contracting operations and advise on the full range of legal matters facing a high-growth blockchain security company. You'll report to the Associate General Counsel, owning the drafting, negotiation, and closure of client and vendor agreements while proactively advising business leaders on risk across legal, financial, operational, and reputational dimensions. The role spans intellectual property and open-source licensing strategy, privacy, compliance, acquisitions, and corporate governance across multiple jurisdictions—requiring you to be both a legal expert and a business partner working closely with Sales, Finance, Operations, HR, and Security teams.
This position suits lawyers with 8–10 years of in-house experience at high-growth companies, ideally with deep expertise in blockchain commercial agreements and open-source law. You'll need strong analytical and negotiation skills, the ability to communicate complex legal concepts to non-lawyers, and comfort managing multiple projects with high autonomy. The role also includes designing automated contracting processes using AI tools and executing compliance training across the organization.
The contract position is fully remote and comes with flexible time off, parental leave (8 weeks primary / 4 weeks secondary plus $3,600 bonus), medical insurance, $500 equipment support, co-working stipends, and learning opportunities. This is a chance to work at the intersection of blockchain technology, business operations, and law at a company whose libraries secure over $35 trillion in onchain value.
How this employer is doing
solid
- Expanding
In the news
S&P Global Expands into Onchain Finance with OpenZeppelin Deal, Yahoo Finance
Pay for this role
The employer didn't post a pay range for this role. That usually means pay is set in negotiation, which favors whoever arrives with numbers. Check ranges on comparable Senior Legal Counsel postings in your area, and analyze any offer before you accept it.
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