[Hiring] Director, Legal @Submittable

Role Description

Submittable is hiring a Director, Legal to lead our legal function as we scale our SaaS business. You'll be a hands-on legal leader, responsible for day-to-day legal operations, the legal team, and the policies and processes that let Submittable grow with confidence. You'll manage the legal team and serve as a primary resource on privacy law, customer contract negotiation, and product and technology intellectual property matters, while also advising on the broader range of legal issues a growing SaaS company faces. This role reports to the CFO and works closely with teams across the organization and with the executive leadership team.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the day-to-day legal function, setting priorities and standards for how legal work gets done across the company.
• Build, manage, and mentor a legal team, including hiring, workload distribution, and professional development.
• Serve as a primary resource on data privacy and security law (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other U.S. and international privacy regimes), including policy development and incident response.
• Negotiate customer contracts, including MSAs, order forms, DPAs, and enterprise procurement paperwork, balancing legal risk against deal velocity.
• Advise Product and Engineering on intellectual property matters, including IP ownership, licensing, open-source usage, and protection of proprietary technology.
• Partner with Sales and Revenue Operations to maintain contracting playbooks, standard terms, and approval thresholds that let deals move quickly without unnecessary escalation.
• Manage outside counsel relationships and legal spend across litigation, IP, and specialty areas.
• Advise company leadership on governance, risk, and compliance matters, escalating to the executive team as needed.
• Support employment law matters in partnership with People/HR, including policy review and workplace investigations as needed.
• Monitor the regulatory and legislative landscape relevant to SaaS, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and the sectors Submittable serves, and translate changes into practical guidance for the business.
• Manage the contract lifecycle management approach and legal operations tooling.
• Collaborate with the Finance team to address and collect overdue customer accounts, utilizing escalation procedures and legal remedies as appropriate.
• Establish and track key performance indicators for the Legal department to assess progress and fuel continuous process improvement, including the integration of AI-driven workflow automation.
• Support M&A, corporate transactions, and other strategic initiatives as they arise.

Qualifications

• J.D. and active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state.
• 8+ years of legal experience, including at least 3 years in-house at a B2B SaaS or technology company. Private equity-backed experience is a plus.
• At least 3 years of hands-on experience negotiating SaaS customer contracts, including MSAs, DPAs, and complex order forms.
• Experience managing or mentoring attorneys and legal professionals, with an interest in building and growing a legal team.
• Strong expertise in data privacy and security law, with hands-on experience supporting privacy programs and responding to regulatory change.
• Solid grounding in intellectual property law as it applies to software products, including licensing and open-source considerations.
• Experience advising business and senior leaders on governance, risk, and compliance matters.
• Sound business judgment and the ability to balance legal risk with commercial pragmatism.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and cross-functional influence skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build and improve legal processes and policy in a fast-growing organization.

Location

This is a remote, U.S.-based role — you must live and reside in the U.S. full-time. We are interested in every qualified candidate eligible to work in the United States; however, we cannot accommodate scholastic or employment visas at this time. In addition, we are not able to consider applicants who reside in the following states: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and life insurance with optional HSA, FSA, and DCA accounts.
• 401(k) plan with employer match starting day one.
• Equity stock options to share in our success.
• Flexible hours, remote work options, and generous vacation and sick leave.
• Paid parental leave for mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents.
• Professional development stipends to support your career growth.
• Opportunities to participate in community outreach and volunteer programs.
• Monthly company-sponsored happy hours and gatherings to connect and unwind.