Employment Counsel

Fireworks AI; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Fireworks AI is seeking an Employment Counsel to join our fast-growing legal team. You’ll own employment and labor matters as we scale across multiple states, ensuring compliance and practical risk management for a rapidly expanding workforce.

You’ll partner closely with HR and People Operations to build scalable policies, templates, and training; advise on equity and compensation considerations; and help negotiate international expansion within global labor laws.

Qualifications

• Familiarity with employee equity and compensation considerations.
• Startup experience in hypergrowth environments.
• JD and bar admission in at least one US state.
• Proven collaboration with HR/People Operations teams.
• Experience supporting international expansion and navigating global employment laws.
• Pragmatic, build-from-scratch mindset balancing risk with business velocity.
• AI-forward mindset with ability to use AI tools to streamline daily workflows.
• 9+ years of in-house employment and labor law experience.

Responsibilities

• Own employment and labor matters for scaling workforce.
• Advise HR and People Operations as day-to-day legal partner.
• Build scalable employment policies, templates, and processes.
• Support international expansion and cross-border compliance.
• Manage employment-related disputes and coordinate outside counsel.
• Keep pace with compliance obligations during headcount growth.

Skills

Equity & compensation familiarity

Startup/hypergrowth experience

Collaboration with HR/People Ops

International expansion experience

Build-from-scratch mindset

AI-tools for workflows

9+ years in-house employment & labor

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

Responsibilities

• We’re building the infrastructure that democratizes access to intelligence. By serving state-of-the-art models to enterprises and advancing open source, we enable organizations to truly own their own intelligence
• Our legal team exists to make that mission possible, responsibly and at scale, because we believe broad access to AI is one of the most consequential things we can build for society
• Our legal team is defined by high integrity, high character, and high trust. We’re low-ego, collaborative, kind, and supportive people who are genuinely excited to be part of a team. We win together or not at all
• As Employment Counsel, you’ll be a foundational member of our growing legal team, owning the employment and labor matters that come with building and scaling a fast-growing company
• You’ll join at a pivotal moment as we rapidly scale our team and serve as the go-to legal partner for our People and HR organization
• This is a build-from-the-ground-up role for someone who’s navigated hypergrowth before and knows how to keep a scaling workforce both well-supported and well-protected. This role reports to the General Counsel
• Advise on the full range of employment and labor matters: hiring, terminations, classifications, leaves, accommodations, investigations, and policy
• Partner closely with HR and People Operations as a trusted, day-to-day legal advisor
• Counsel on employee equity and compensation considerations
• Build scalable employment policies, templates, and processes suited to a rapidly growing, multi-state workforce
• Support international expansion and advise on cross-border employment and global labor law compliance as we grow our footprint beyond the US
• Manage employment-related disputes and coordinate specialist outside counsel where needed
• Keep us ahead of the compliance obligations that come with fast headcount growth

Qualifications

• Familiarity with employee equity and compensation considerations
• Prior startup experience, ideally in a hypergrowth environment
• A JD and membership in at least one US state bar
• A track record of close collaboration and strong partnership with HR and People Operations teams
• Experience supporting international expansion and navigating global employment laws
• A pragmatic, build-from-scratch mindset and the judgment to balance risk with business velocity
• AI-forward, builder’s mindset, with a demonstrated ability to use AI tools to streamline daily workflows and accelerate efficiency
• 9+ years of in-house employment and labor law experience