General Counsel

Tsunami Car Wash Intermediate Holdco; Loves Park (IL); Remote; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus opportunities

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Paid Time Off

Employee discounts

Training & Development

Growth opportunities

Build in-house legal function

Culture of accountability and teamwork

Job summary

Tsunami Express is seeking a General Counsel to build and lead the company’s in-house legal function across M&A, real estate, contracts, employment law, and regulatory compliance. You will partner with the CEO and executive team to move fast while managing risk in a multi-site, rapidly growing organization.

The ideal candidate has 10+ years of in-house and/or high-growth experience, strong business judgment, and the ability to design scalable processes that align legal with Operations, HR,

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Minimum of 10 years legal experience, including significant in-house experience in a multi-site organization.
• Broad generalist background across corporate, contracts, employment, real estate, litigation, and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as trusted legal advisor to the CEO and executive team.
• Lead corporate governance, entity structure, filings, and equity documentation.
• Oversee M&A and real estate transactions from LOI through closing and integration.
• Manage outside counsel and control cost, strategy, and execution.
• Develop scalable contract templates and lifecycle management processes.
• Lead employment, wage-and-hour compliance, and multi-state policies.
• Oversee litigation portfolio and regulatory compliance programs.
• Build and scale the in-house legal function to support rapid growth.

Skills

Business judgment

In-house experience

M&A experience

Regulatory compliance

Education

J.D. from an accredited law school

Job description

What We Offer:

• Competitive base salary plus bonus opportunities
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off
• Employee discounts
• Paid training and professional development opportunities
• Growth opportunities within a rapidly expanding company
• The opportunity to build and shape Tsunami’s legal function from the ground up
• A strong culture built on accountability, teamwork, innovation, and doing right by our people

Travel & Schedule:

• This is a primarily remote role with approximately 10% travel.
• Preference location is in the Midwest
• Travel will typically include corporate meetings, board and leadership sessions, and occasional travel related to acquisitions, real estate, or site matters.

About Tsunami Express

At Tsunami Express, we’re committed to creating an experience so seamless and satisfying that it becomes our customers’ favorite errand.

Our teams combine people, technology, and operational excellence to deliver a fast, friendly, and memorable experience at every location. As we continue to grow, we remain focused on building a culture centered on accountability, innovation, and teamwork.

Our Values: Fun Helpful Pioneering Accountable Together

The Opportunity

Tsunami Express is building the future of express car washing — powered by people, automation, and smart technology. With 75+ locations across the Midwest and aggressive expansion ahead, we are building the infrastructure needed to support continued growth toward 100, 150, and beyond.

As General Counsel, you will serve as Tsunami’s first in-house legal leader and a strategic partner to the CEO and executive team. This is an opportunity to build the legal function from the ground up while helping a rapidly growing, multi-state organization move quickly and confidently without taking on unnecessary risk.

This role is designed for a business-minded legal leader who can balance sound legal judgment with the realities of a fast-moving operation. You’ll lead legal strategy across M&A, real estate, commercial contracts, employment law, litigation, regulatory compliance, consumer programs, corporate governance, and enterprise risk while building scalable processes for Tsunami’s next stage of growth.

The ideal candidate thinks like an operator, drafts like a lawyer, and approaches legal challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset — providing clear options, practical recommendations, and an understanding of business risk rather than simply identifying roadblocks.

What You’ll Own:

Corporate Governance & Strategic Advisory

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to the CEO, executive team, and other senior leaders
• Manage corporate governance, entity structure, governance filings, and equity documentation
• Support board, investor, financing, and private equity matters
• Translate complex legal issues into clear business options, recommendations, and risk considerations

M&A, Growth & Real Estate

• Lead the legal workstream for acquisitions from LOI through diligence, documentation, and closing
• Manage outside counsel on complex transactions while maintaining accountability for strategy, cost, and execution
• Lead post-acquisition legal integration, including entity cleanup and contract and license transfers
• Negotiate and advise on leases, site development, zoning, entitlements, land use, construction contracts, and other real estate matters

Commercial Contracts

• Own the contract lifecycle across vendor, equipment, technology, marketing, and other commercial agreements
• Develop scalable contract templates, playbooks, approval processes, and signature authority standards
• Establish and oversee contract lifecycle management and the company’s contract repository
• Partner with business leaders to negotiate agreements that protect Tsunami while supporting operational needs

Employment & Labor

• Partner with HR and Operations on multi-state employment and wage-and-hour compliance
• Advise on policies, investigations, employee relations matters, terminations, and reductions in force
• Provide guidance related to discrimination, harassment, ADA, FMLA, leave, and restrictive covenants
• Manage employment litigation, agency charges, and outside employment counsel

Litigation, Claims & Risk

• Manage Tsunami’s litigation portfolio and provide legal oversight for customer and operational claims
• Oversee pre-litigation demands, settlements, mediation, litigation holds, and outside counsel
• Develop and manage enterprise legal risk and support incident response and crisis management
• Advise on environmental, facilities, licensing, permitting, data privacy, PCI, and other regulatory requirements

Consumer Programs & Brand Protection

• Advise on membership programs, including auto-renewal, negative-option requirements, and cancellation processes
• Provide legal guidance for website and app terms, privacy policies, marketing, promotions, and loyalty programs
• Ensure compliance with consumer protection, advertising, and pricing requirements
• Manage Tsunami’s trademark portfolio and brand protection efforts

Build the Legal Function

• Build and lead Tsunami’s in-house legal function, including legal operations, budget, systems, processes, and outside counsel
• Establish scalable legal infrastructure designed for a 100+ site organization
• Create repeatable processes that allow Legal to integrate seamlessly with Operations, HR, Finance, Growth, and other business functions
• Evaluate future legal team needs and build the function as the organization continues to scale

What You Bring:

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing with the bar of at least one U.S. jurisdiction
• Eligibility to register as in-house counsel in your state of residence
• Minimum of 10 years of legal experience, including significant in-house experience within a high-growth, multi-site, or multi-unit organization
• Broad generalist experience across corporate matters, commercial contracts, employment law, real estate, litigation management, and regulatory compliance
• Demonstrated experience managing M&A and/or commercial real estate transactions
• Experience building or substantially scaling legal processes, templates, systems, and outside-counsel management
• Experience advising CEOs, executive teams, and senior business leaders
• Experience working with private equity or institutional investors
• Strong business judgment with the ability to identify risk while providing practical, actionable solutions
• Ability to operate independently and confidently in a fast-paced, rapidly growing organization
• Experience in retail, hospitality, consumer services, franchise, or another distributed consumer-facing organization preferred
• Multi-state employment law experience across a distributed hourly workforce preferred
• Experience with consumer membership or subscription models and auto-renewal requirements preferred
• First-in-role or legal department-building experience strongly preferred