General Counsel @ Unto Labs

Counselwell Inc.; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Unto Labs, a distributed systems startup in San Francisco, seeks a General Counsel to shape legal strategy across the US and international markets and to lead regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and IP.

This hands-on role partners with founders, manages outside counsel, and builds scalable processes to support rapid product launches in a blockchain environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctor from top schools required.
• Experience at a top law firm.
• 7+ years of experience advising on regulatory and corporate matters, including strategic transactions.

Responsibilities

• Lead the company's legal and regulatory strategy across the U.S. and abroad, staying ahead of developments.
• Lead deal work: M&A, financings, joint ventures, and negotiate commercial contracts.
• Own the company’s intellectual property strategy, including trademarks and licensing.
• Manage disputes, regulatory inquiries, subpoenas, and investigations; oversee outside counsel.
• Structure and maintain corporate architecture and governance across entities.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Mergers & acquisitions

Contract negotiations

Corporate governance

IP strategy

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Juris Doctor

Tools

Outside counsel management

Job description

About Unto Labs

Unto Labs is a team of low-level engineers pushing distributed systems to the physical limits of modern hardware. We're building the next generation of blockchain technology, from core consensus primitives to performance-tuned networking stacks, on commodity servers.

San Francisco, CA (On-Site)

About Unto Labs

Unto Labs is a team of low-level engineers pushing distributed systems to the physical limits of modern hardware. We're building the next generation of blockchain technology, from core consensus primitives to performance-tuned networking stacks, on commodity servers.

About The Role

As General Counsel, you will establish and lead the company's legal strategy with the founders across a broad range of areas, including regulatory compliance, corporate governance, commercial transactions, employment matters, intellectual property, and dispute resolution.

You'll build and lead the company's legal function across a wide range of areas, including regulatory compliance, corporate matters, commercial agreements, employment issues, intellectual property, and disputes. You'll be a trusted partner to the founders and work closely with everyone.

As part of a small, high caliber team, this is a critical, hands‑on, cross‑functional role that goes beyond traditional legal advice. You'll create practical compliance programs, develop internal policies, and put processes in place that support the launch and growth of innovative financial products. We're looking for someone who enjoys tackling complex regulatory challenges, turning legal requirements into workable solutions, and helping the company scale responsibly.

Responsibilities

Lead the company's approach to legal and regulatory matters across the U.S. ((SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, OFAC, state MTLs)) and internationally (MiCA, FCA, MAS), while staying ahead of regulatory developments and working directly with regulators when necessary.

Lead deal work: M&A, strategic investments, financings, joint ventures, etc. and draft, negotiate, and operationalize the full commercial contract stack: customer, partner, vendor, BD, integration, and protocol partnership agreements.

Own the company's intellectual property strategy, including trademarks, licensing, and open-source software considerations.

Manage disputes, regulatory inquiries, subpoenas, investigations, and other legal matters as they arise. Select and oversee outside counsel and ensure legal resources are used effectively, when necessary.

Structure and maintain the company's corporate architecture and governance across multiple entities.

Build legal and compliance processes that can scale with the company while balancing risk, regulatory requirements, and speed of execution.

Advise and work with founders on best practices for entity structuring, digital tokens and onchain incentivestokenomics and securities, innovative business models, and compliance solutions.

Requirements

Candidates must have both a Bachelor’s Degree and Juris Doctor from top schools, experience at a top law firm, and 7+ years of experience with:

Counseling financial services companies on a broad range of matters, including general business matters, regulatory matters, corporate governance, and technology transfers, with a focus on strategic transactions, and mergers and acquisitions.

Proactive business mindset: someone who operates effectively as the sole lawyer, with impeccable organization, project management, and communication skills.

Translating complex regulatory requirements into practical product and operational guidance for non-lawyer business partners and colleagues.

Advising senior executives on nuanced matters with limited information, and is comfortable being the last set of eyes before product ships.

Improving processes and building out new systems from scratch.

Toggling between strategic thinking and tactical execution, and adjusting priorities in response to unanticipated events with minimal oversight.

We are even more interested in chatting if you have

In-house experience at a product-led crypto, DeFi, or fintech company—especially if you helped it to grow.

Deep understanding of CFTC regulation, including experience advising on, preparing, or managing CFTC regulatory filings, rule submissions, or examination responses.

Established and maintained multi-entity corporate structures, including offshore affiliates and operating subsidiaries across multiple jurisdictions.

Why Join Us?

Shape and own legal structure and strategy at a startup at the frontier of distributed systems, the future of financial innovation, and blockchain infrastructure

Work directly with a founding team of world‑class engineers to position innovative technology for widespread adoption

Own the entire legal function as an early hire with substantial influence over company direction

Competitive compensation, equity, and generous benefits

EEO Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran or military status, marital status, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.