Director, Legal - US Commercial

Sonar; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Sonar is seeking a Director of Legal to build and scale the US Commercial Legal team. You will partner with sales, procurement, finance, IT/security and product to negotiate high‑value SaaS and enterprise agreements while shaping risk management on a fast‑growth path.

Reporting to the Deputy General Counsel, you will mentor attorneys, implement scalable contracting processes, and lead strategic legal initiatives to accelerate revenue while protecting the company.

Qualifications

• J.D. and active Bar admission with 10+ years of commercial and technology legal experience.
• In-house leadership at a high-growth technology company.
• Deep knowledge of SaaS licensing, data privacy, IP, and revenue recognition.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and scale the US commercial legal team.
• Negotiate complex enterprise SaaS and partner agreements.
• Partner with Sales, Procurement, Finance, IT/Security, and Product to enable growth.
• Develop contracting infrastructure and leverage CLM and AI drafting tools to streamline workflows.
• Advise executives on risk, regulatory shifts, and negotiation strategy.

Skills

Legal Leadership

In-House Experience

SaaS & Software Negotiations

Contract Negotiation

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Education

J.D. and active Bar admission

Tools

CLM systems

AI drafting tools

Job description

Who is Sonar?

Sonar is driving the future of agent-centric software development. As the leader in AI code verification and governance, we solve a critical problem: ensuring that software generated by AI-assisted developers or autonomous agents is reliable, secure, and maintainable.

Integrating seamlessly with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, and Devin, we help over 75% of the Fortune 100 build trusted, reliable, compliant software. Customers who use Sonar are 44% less likely to report an outage due to AI-generated code.

We believe code verification is the critical missing link in the Agent-Centric Development Cycle (AC/DC). Industry giants like Nvidia, ServiceNow, Booking.com, Goldman Sachs, AstraZeneca, and Ford Motor Company count on us to provide independent, explainable, consistent review and governance of their AI-generated code via products like:

• SonarQube: The world’s leading AI code review and verification platform.
• SonarQube Foundation Agent: Currently topping the leaderboards for agentic software repair.
• SonarSweep & Sonar Context Augmentation: Providing the enterprise-grade context and constraints agents need to be truly effective.

Our team operates across global hubs in Austin, Bochum, Dubai, Geneva, London, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington D.C. We move with a mindset we call CODE:

• Committed to our customers and community.
• Obsessed with quality.
• Deliberate in our decisions.
• Effective as one team.

With over $400M in revenue and profitable, fast-paced growth, we are building the backbone of the AI software revolution.

The Impact You Can Have

We are looking for an exceptional, dynamic, and vision-driven legal leader to manage and scale our US Commercial Legal team. As Director of Legal, you will serve as a strategic partner to our business, balancing risk mitigation with high-growth revenue enablement. Reporting directly to the Deputy General Counsel (DGC), you will lead, mentor, and empower a team of commercial legal professionals responsible for driving all US commercial contracting initiatives, including enterprise sales, channel partnerships, and vendor procurement.

We are seeking a proactive, solution-oriented leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, excels at cross-functional leadership, and is passionate about building scalable, technology-driven legal operations.

How You Will Make an Impact

• Lead & Mentor the Team: Manage, mentor, and grow the US commercial legal team. Establish team goals, manage workload allocation, and foster a high-performance, collaborative culture focused on career development and operational excellence.
• Drive Strategic Commercial Matters: Oversee and independently negotiate high-value, highly complex commercial transactions across enterprise sales, channel partnerships, and strategic vendor agreements.
• Partner Cross-Functionally: Drive alignment across key Sonar leaders and key business functions - including Sales leadership, Procurement, Finance, IT/Security and Product, to unlock revenue and build business-enabling processes.
• Pioneer Operations & Scale: Lead the strategic development and scaling of our contracting infrastructure. Optimize legal tech tools (including CLM systems and generative AI drafting tools) to streamline workflows, shorten deal cycles, and remove operational blockers.
• Risk Management & Executive Advisory: Serve as a trusted legal advisor to executive stakeholders on key contract terms, risk profiles, regulatory shifts, and negotiation strategies.
• Support Company Growth Initiatives: Address emergent legal issues in a high-growth environment, partnering with specialized legal functions on product legal counsel, data privacy, and global expansion strategies.

The Qualities You Will Bring

• Proven Legal Leadership: J.D. and active Bar admission with 10+ years of commercial and technology legal experience (including SaaS and software negotiations). Prior experience directly managing and leading team members is required.
• In-House Expertise: Significant in-house experience at a high-growth international technology or software company.
• Strategic Influence & Executive Presence: Exceptional communication skills with a track record of building trusted relationships with senior leadership, cross-functional teams, and enterprise customers.
• Domain Mastery: Deep domain knowledge of complex SaaS, software licensing, intellectual property, data protection/privacy, and enterprise revenue recognition principles.
• Agility & Ownership: Ability to navigate ambiguity, prioritize high-impact initiatives, and manage competing demands in a dynamic environment while maintaining strategic clarity.

In-office culture

We’re intentional about this. We believe the best teams are built in the room together. Three anchor days — Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays — create the collaboration rhythm that makes a hub office worth having.

Candidates need to be genuinely based in the location the role is posted — if that's not where you are today, we’re happy to support relocation for the right person.

We value diversity, equity, and inclusion

At Sonar, we believe that our diversity is our strength. We are a global company that values and respects different backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome all qualified applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

If you need any accommodation, please reach out to us at [emailprotected].

All offers of employment at Sonar are contingent upon the results of a comprehensive background check and reference verification conducted before the start date.

Applications that are submitted through agencies or third party recruiters will not be considered.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.