Founding Legal Counsel & Strategic Operations

Garage; New York (NY); On-site; USD 200,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Stock options

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Unlimited PTO

Relocation assistance

Wellness stipend

Job summary

Garage seeks an exceptional lawyer to join as our first in-house legal hire, partnering with leadership on commercial, corporate, regulatory, and operational matters.

You’ll shape the legal framework for the marketplace, oversee governance and equity administration, and manage significant transactions and partnerships in a fast-growing company.

Qualifications

• Must be licensed to practice law in at least one jurisdiction.
• JD from a top law school with minimum 4 years of legal experience, ideally at a top-tier firm or high-growth company.
• Proven track record independently managing and closing commercial agreements, with strong business judgment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Garage's primary internal legal advisor, partnering with leadership across commercial, corporate, regulatory, and operational matters.
• Draft, negotiate, and manage commercial agreements, including customer, vendor, and strategic partnership contracts.
• Own the legal frameworks governing our marketplace.
• Manage corporate governance, board matters, equity administration, and compliance.
• Advise and oversee outside counsel across specialized legal matters, including litigation, regulatory issues, employment, IP, and complex corporate transactions.
• Structure and negotiate significant commercial partnership agreements

Skills

Licensed attorney

4+ years experience

Commercial agreements

Regulatory awareness

Business judgement

Education

JD from a top law school

Job description

About Us

Our vision is to become the marketplace for everything expensive, specialized, and difficult to move. We’re building the infrastructure that powers the procurement and disposition of assets across America’s essential industries, automating everything from discovery and payments to freight, warranty, and financing. Today, Garage operates in cities and towns across all 50 states and has surpassed $100M+ in annualized transaction volume on the platform.

Our mission is to save local governments and essential services businesses time and money. We started with fire departments two years ago and have since expanded into EMS and heavy-duty, launching new verticals while growing revenue >10x last year.

If you move fast, hold a high bar, and want meaningful ownership in building a category-defining company, Garage is the place to do it.

About the Role

We're looking for an exceptional lawyer to join Garage as our first in-house legal hire, partnering with leadership on commercial, corporate, regulatory, and operational matters.

You'll be involved in some of the most consequential decisions at Garage—from structuring financing transactions and evaluating acquisitions to negotiating strategic partnerships and significant agreements. You’ll shape the legal frameworks and policies governing our marketplace and oversee corporate governance, board matters, equity administration, and compliance, while building the legal infrastructure to support our growth.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as Garage's primary internal legal advisor, partnering with leadership across commercial, corporate, regulatory, and operational matters.

• Draft, negotiate, and manage commercial agreements, including customer, vendor, and strategic partnership contracts.

• Own the legal frameworks governing our marketplace.

• Manage corporate governance, board matters, equity administration, and compliance.

• Advise and oversee outside counsel across specialized legal matters, including litigation, regulatory issues, employment, intellectual property, and complex corporate transactions.

• Structure and negotiate significant commercial partnership agreements

Who You Are

• Must be licensed to practice law in at least one jurisdiction.

• A JD from a top law school and a minimum of 4 years of legal experience, ideally with top-tier law firm training and/or in-house experience at a high-growth company.

• Demonstrated experience independently managing and closing commercial agreements, with strong legal and business judgment.

• Ability to navigate a broad range of legal matters, work through ambiguity, and balance legal considerations with business objectives.

• Strong organizational skills and the ability to build scalable processes and systems from the ground up.

Our Values

• Take Big Swings. We are here to transform an overlooked industry—not make small improvements around the edges. We set ambitious goals, take calculated risks, and push through setbacks. We never trade lasting impact for short-term comfort.

• Customers Come First. Our customers operate in an industry burdened by slow, expensive, and outdated processes. We attack the problems that cost them the most and measure our success by the time and money we give back to them.

• Play For the Front of the Jersey. We put the mission ahead of ourselves. We challenge each other directly, support each other relentlessly, and step up whenever the team needs us. We win together, and we have fun doing it.

• All Gas, No Ego. Building something that matters takes relentless effort. We move fast, take ownership, and see hard problems through. When we fall short, we own it, learn quickly, and come back stronger.

Why Join Garage?

• Do work that matters. Our platform helps people buy the assets that local communities rely on to keep their communities safe, clean, and operating every day.

• Help shape the company. Join as one of our first 50 employees and work directly alongside the founders.

• Make an outsized impact. You’ll join a talent-dense, high-performance team where every person moves the company forward.

• Build from a strong foundation. We’ve raised $18M, including a $13.5M Series A, from Y Combinator, Initialized Capital, Infinity Ventures, FJ Labs, and other leading investors.

What we offer

• Competitive salary and stock options

• 100% medical, dental and vision insurance coverage

• Unlimited PTO (in addition to company observed holidays)

• Daily lunch & dinner (for employees based in NYC)

• $100/month wellness stipend

• 401(k) w/ employer match

• Pre-tax commuter benefits

• Annual team offsite

• Relocation assistance

Equal Opportunity

As an equal-opportunity employer, we are committed to building an inclusive environment where you can be you. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, natural origin, age, disability, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected class.