Employment Counsel

Lambda; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision coverage

401k with company match

Flexible PTO

Wellness stipend

Commuter stipend

Job summary

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, seeks an Employment Counsel to partner with the People team and business leaders on U.S. and international employment matters. You will advise on hiring, compensation, leave, performance management, and risk across a growing global workforce.

You will own employment templates, negotiate agreements for senior hires, oversee investigations, and guide international expansion while coordinating with outside counsel as Lambda scales.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active license in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (CA preferred).
• Minimum 7+ years employment law experience, ideally with a top firm and in-house tech company.
• Experience with EOR/PEO and multi-country compliance is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day employment counseling to People Partners and managers across the employee lifecycle.
• Draft, negotiate, and own employment-related templates (offers, agreements, IP assignment).
• Advise on wage/hour, classifications, and multi-state compliance.
• Lead international expansion efforts and advise on local entities, EOR/PEO use, and cross-border mobility.
• Conduct or supervise workplace investigations and manage agency or litigation matters.
• Develop and update the employee handbook and global HR policies.

Skills

Employment law

California law

International expansion

Drafting agreements

Investigations

Policy advisory

Education

JD

California Bar admission

Tools

Contract management systems

DocuSign

HRIS familiarity

Job description

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, is a leader in AI cloud infrastructure serving tens of thousands of customers. Our customers range from AI researchers to enterprises and hyperscalers. Lambda's mission is to make compute as ubiquitous as electricity and give everyone the power of superintelligence. One person, one GPU.

If you'd like to build the world's best AI cloud, join us.

*Note: This position is based in San Francisco, with flexibility to consider alternative locations for qualified candidates. Lambda follows a four-day in-office schedule, with Tuesdays currently designated as work-from-home days.

As Employment Counsel at Lambda, you will be the primary legal partner to our People team and business leaders on employment matters across a fast-growing and increasingly global workforce. You'll advise on the full employee lifecycle in the U.S. and abroad, help decide how Lambda hires in new countries (through Employer of Record and PEO partners and, as we scale, through our own local entities), and build the policies, playbooks, and training that let the company move quickly without taking on unnecessary risk. You will report to Lambda's Associate General Counsel, Corporate.

What You’ll Do

Employment Counseling

• Provide practical, day-to-day advice to People Partners, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and managers across the employee lifecycle, including hiring, onboarding, compensation, leave and accommodation, performance management, discipline, and separation.

• Advise on wage and hour compliance (including exempt/non-exempt classification and California-specific requirements), contractor and consultant classification, and multi-state employment compliance.

• Handle sensitive employee relations matters and separations, including drafting and negotiating separation and release agreements.

Hiring & Recruiting Support

• Partner with Recruiting and the People team on offers and hiring, and own Lambda's employment templates, including offer letters, employment agreements, and confidentiality and invention assignment agreements.

• Draft and negotiate bespoke employment agreements for senior and specialized hires as needed.

• Draft and maintain contractor, consultant, and advisor agreements, and advise on the right engagement model for each role.

International Expansion & Global Employment

• Partner with People, Finance, Tax, and Corporate on how Lambda hires in new countries, including when to use an EOR or PEO and when to establish a local entity, and manage those providers and the transitions between models.

• Own the employment side of building out local entities, including country-specific documentation, policies, and compliance.

• Advise on international employment matters across the employee lifecycle and manage local outside counsel.

Investigations & Disputes

• Conduct or oversee workplace investigations into complaints of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and misconduct.

• Manage agency charges, demand letters, arbitrations, and litigation with outside counsel, with a focus on cost-effective outcomes.

Policies, Programs & Compliance

• Own and update the employee handbook, policies, and required notices across U.S. states and international locations.

• Advise on compensation programs with employment implications, including incentive and commission plans, pay transparency, and pay equity requirements.

• Support employment compliance for our data center and operations workforce, including scheduling, overtime, and workplace safety matters.

• Design and deliver training for managers and the People team.

Corporate Transactions & Special Projects

• Support the employment aspects of M&A, reorganizations, and reductions in force, including WARN and international collective consultation requirements.

• Partner with corporate and securities counsel on employment matters tied to Lambda's growth and public company readiness.

• Build scalable processes, templates, and self-serve resources so the People team can handle routine matters and knows when to elevate.

You

• JD from an accredited law school and active admission to practice in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (California bar preferred, or eligibility for California Registered In-House Counsel).

• 7+ years of employment law experience, ideally including time at a law firm with a recognized labor and employment practice and time in-house at a technology or other high-growth company.

• Hands-on experience supporting international expansion, including hiring through EOR and/or PEO providers, hiring directly through local entities, and moving employees between those models.

• Deep knowledge of U.S. federal and California employment law, plus working familiarity with employment frameworks in key international markets such as the UK, EU, Canada, and APAC.

• Experience conducting workplace investigations and managing employment litigation and agency matters.

• Sound judgment and the ability to give clear, practical advice that balances legal risk against business objectives, including when information is incomplete.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to explain complex issues simply to HR partners, managers, and executives.

• Low ego, high ownership, and comfortable building structure in a fast-moving environment.

Nice to Have

• Experience at a company scaling from several hundred to several thousand employees, or through an IPO.

• Experience with equity compensation, including working with Recruiting and Equity Administration teams on employee and candidate equity questions.

• Experience with employment issues for data center, hardware, or other operational and field-based workforces.

• Experience coordinating with immigration and global mobility counsel.

• Familiarity with global HRIS and EOR platforms.

Salary Range Information

The annual salary range for this position has been set based on market data and other factors. However, a salary higher or lower than this range may be appropriate for a candidate whose qualifications differ meaningfully from those listed in the job description.

About Lambda

• Founded in 2012, with 500+ employees, and growing fast

• Our investors notably include TWG Global, US Innovative Technology Fund (USIT), Andra Capital, SGW, Andrej Karpathy, ARK Invest, Fincadia Advisors, G Squared, In-Q-Tel (IQT), KHK & Partners, NVIDIA, Pegatron, Supermicro, Wistron, Wiwynn, Gradient Ventures, Mercato Partners, SVB, 1517, and Crescent Cove

• We have research papers accepted at top machine learning and graphics conferences, including NeurIPS, ICCV, SIGGRAPH, and TOG

• Our values are publicly available: https://lambda.ai/careers

• We offer generous cash & equity compensation

• Health, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents

• Wellness and commuter stipends for select roles

• 401k Plan with 2% company match (USA employees)

• Flexible paid time off plan that we all actually use

Equal Opportunity Employer

Lambda is an Equal Opportunity employer. Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, sexual orientation and identity, genetic information, veteran status, citizenship, or any other factors prohibited by local, state, or federal law.