Commercial Counsel

Exterro is seeking an experienced Commercial Counsel who genuinely enjoys contract work to join our growing legal team. This is a remote-first position. Approximately 80-90% of this role is commercial contracting: you will take significant ownership of the customer, partner/channel, and vendor contract lifecycle, including intake, drafting and redlining, direct and live negotiations, and managing agreements through execution. The remaining time supports privacy, compliance, and product counseling. This role requires significant and recent SaaS commercial experience representing the technology provider, the ability to independently handle standard and strategic deals, and the judgment to know when to escalate matters. This is a ground-floor opportunity for a lawyer who wants to grow into a senior in-house leader, with a clear path to expand your scope as you develop.

Reporting to the General Counsel, you will work closely with a fast-paced Sales organization and with Customer Success, Security, Compliance, and Product teams to mitigate legal risk while facilitating revenue growth and operational efficiency. Our deal flow has a meaningful month-end and quarter-end cycle, so you must be comfortable with periods of significant deal activity and urgency. The ideal candidate possesses a strong background in technology transactions (specifically SaaS), a genuine enthusiasm for AI and emerging legal technology tools, excellent communication skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, international environment.

Key Responsibilities

Contract Negotiation & Drafting

• Own a high volume of contracts from intake through execution, independently drafting, reviewing, and negotiating SaaS subscription agreements, enterprise license agreements, order forms, partner and reseller agreements, SOWs, and amendments, including on live negotiation calls with customers and vendors.

• Negotiate customer and vendor contracts, including MSAs, DPAs, BAAs, NDAs, AI addenda, and professional services agreements.

• Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, and clause libraries to improve speed and consistency.

• Partner with Sales and Customer Success to close deals efficiently while managing risk.

Risk Management & Compliance

• As you grow in the role, take on increasing responsibility across privacy and data protection (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA), product counseling, compliance, commercial dispute resolution, and marketing with go-to-market support.

• Apply GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other privacy laws in contract negotiations, and assist with global privacy and AI compliance initiatives (including emerging U.S. state privacy laws and the EU AI Act).

• Provide guidance on contract interpretation and pre-litigation commercial disputes.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & General Support

• Act as a strategic legal partner to internal business teams, providing timely, practical legal advice that moves deals and projects forward.

• Collaborate with IT/Security, Compliance, and Finance teams to ensure commercial and vendor agreements align with corporate risk tolerances and budget requirements.

• Conduct legal research and stay current on legislation, regulatory developments, and case law affecting privacy, data protection, cybersecurity, AI regulation, open source licensing, and SaaS industry contracting practices.

• Collaborate with external legal counsel when necessary.

• Develop and implement internal policies and procedures to manage the company's legal and operational risk.

• Provide training and guidance to internal teams on legal topics relevant to Exterro's business, including contract processes, data privacy, and compliance requirements.

• Support incident response efforts, including data breach notification obligations and coordination with Security and Compliance teams.

Qualifications & Experience

Required Education & Credentials

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.

• Active member in good standing of at least one State Bar.

Experience

• 3–6 years of experience practicing law, with a primary focus on commercial contracts and technology transactions, including significant and recent experience owning SaaS customer agreements from start to finish on behalf of a technology provider.

• Proven experience in a corporate in-house legal department or a law firm tech/commercial practice group.

• Deep familiarity with SaaS business models, software licensing, and cloud computing legal issues.

• Hands-on experience applying GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other privacy laws in commercial agreements, including negotiating DPAs, and working knowledge of security frameworks such as SOC 2.

• Enthusiasm for AI, legal technology, and using new tools to work smarter. You stay current on how technology is changing legal practice and look for ways to apply it.

• Preferred: Experience reviewing and negotiating AI addenda or AI-related contract terms; familiarity with the EU AI Act is a plus.

Skills & Competencies

• Commercial Pragmatism: Ability to balance legal risk with business objectives. You find solutions, not just problems, and you take initiative to drive them to completion without being asked.

• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex legal concepts clearly to non-legal stakeholders.

• Ownership and Problem-Solving: You dig into the details, get comfortable in the weeds, and take full ownership of your work. Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage a high volume of contracts simultaneously under tight deadlines.

• Interpersonal Savvy: Cultural awareness and the ability to work effectively across international teams and support cross-border commercial agreements (US, EMEA, APAC).

Why Exterro?

• Commercial Pragmatism: Ability to balance legal risk with business objectives. You find solutions, not just problems, and you take initiative to drive them to completion without being asked.

• Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex legal concepts clearly to non-legal stakeholders.

• Love of Contracts and Ownership: You genuinely enjoy reviewing and negotiating contracts, dig into the details, and take full ownership of your work. Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage a high volume of contracts simultaneously under tight deadlines.

• Interpersonal Savvy: Cultural awareness and the ability to work effectively across international teams and support cross-border commercial agreements (US, EMEA, APAC).

Exterro participates in E-Verify and is a drug-free workplace. All employment offers are contingent upon the successful passing of a background check.

We believe in the importance of pay transparency and strive to create a fair and equitable workplace for all employees. As a remote first organization, our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several US geographic markets. The salary range for this remote position is $143,000-$165,000 per year, based on skills, experience and qualifications. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. Exterro is a total compensation company, and this role may be eligible for variable pay, equity, bonus and/or other forms of compensation as part of the package. In addition, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance, retirement plans, flexible paid time off and more.

Candidates are encouraged to discuss their salary expectations during the interview process. We are committed to ensuring that compensation aligns with market standards and is commensurate with the responsibilities of the role.

All employees are responsible for understanding and adhering to the organization’s security and privacy policies, procedures, and standards. As part of your role, you are expected to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and systems within your scope of responsibility. Additionally, you are required to participate in mandatory security and privacy training and ensure that best practices are applied in all work activities.