[Hiring] Senior Counsel, Employment @Databricks

Role Description

The Senior Counsel, Employment will provide sophisticated, practical legal advice to the Databricks People Team and business leaders, focusing on:

• HR AI adoption
• Compensation and benefits
• Pay equity
• Global mobility
• Employee privacy
• M&A (diligence, employee-related deal terms, and workforce integration)

This person will be based in the U.S. and advise directly on U.S. matters while leading and project-managing complex global projects. Regular cross-functional partners will include:

• Recruiting
• Privacy and product legal
• Security
• Tax
• People operations
• Comp and benefits
• Corporate development

The successful candidate will be a pragmatic and resourceful advisor and an enthusiastic AI user, with strong project-management discipline and the ability to move quickly while maintaining a high standard of legal and operational precision. This is a full-time position reporting to Databricks' Senior Director and Associate General Counsel of Global Employment Legal.

Responsibilities

• Advise on cash compensation programs, bonus and incentive plans, clawback policies, equal-pay requirements, pay equity reviews, compensation governance, and related internal and external disclosures.
• Lead or support pay equity projects, including scoping, data and process review, coordination with stakeholders, review of analyses, and development of remediation or communication plans.
• Provide legal advice on employee benefits, including retirement plans, welfare and wrap plans, severance plans, leave-related benefits, and country-specific benefits and protections.
• Draft, review, and update employment-related plans, policies, agreements, templates, and employee communications with exceptional precision and attention to detail.
• Advise recruiting and talent acquisition teams on candidate-facing issues, offer letters, employment agreements, compensation terms, background checks, hiring practices, and negotiations.
• Advise on global mobility and immigration matters, including employee transfers, international assignments, work authorization, and related onboarding or exit issues.
• Support the employment-related aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments.
• Advise on employee privacy and data-use issues, including employee and candidate data, access and disclosure requests, and workforce technology.
• Review and advise on HR AI tools and workflows, including vendor diligence and employment-law and privacy risks.
• Lead global employment-related projects, including international expansions, from scoping through implementation.
• Monitor legal developments affecting compensation, benefits, pay equity, recruiting, mobility, privacy, AI, and other relevant employment areas.
• Identify and implement process improvements that help the Legal and People Teams scale.
• Serve as a hands-on problem solver for sensitive, high-priority, and cross-functional issues.
• Respond to U.S. demand letters, administrative charges, and other disputes.

Qualifications

• JD from a top-tier law school; member of a state bar in good standing.
• 10+ years of relevant employment-law experience, with substantial experience advising sophisticated organizations.
• Experience with compensation, benefits, pay equity, executive compensation, recruiting, global mobility, and immigration.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments.
• Experience leading multi-jurisdictional or global projects.
• Experience advising on employee privacy, workforce data, HR technology, and AI tools is strongly preferred.
• Exceptional drafting skills.
• Strong project-management skills.
• Ability to quickly and independently assess unfamiliar or time-sensitive situations.
• Ability to build strong relationships quickly and work effectively with executive stakeholders.
• Genuine enthusiasm for AI and emerging technology.
• Client-service orientation and the highest level of integrity and business ethics.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all employees.
• Eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and additional benefits.