Head of Legal

Tin Can; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Tin Can is hiring a Head of Legal in Seattle to own the legal function for a bold, safety-focused hardware company. You’ll lead in-house efforts on compliance for consumer devices, data privacy (COPPA), and international expansion, while shaping the company’s commercial and regulatory posture.

You’ll drive governance, contracts, and HR compliance, blending hands-on drafting with strategic oversight as the first full-time legal hire embedded in day-to-day leadership.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of legal experience, with meaningful in-house time at a high growth tech or hardware company.
• Entrepreneurial, hands-on, able to redline an NDA.
• Clear, plain-English communicator who translates risk into decisions.
• Familiarity with children’s privacy/data protection (COPPA or international equivalents).
• Experience with physical product compliance, including international requirements.
• Comfortable with FCC and telecom-adjacent regulatory work; expertise is a bonus.
• Experience supporting international expansion and go-to-market efforts.
• Knowledge of D2C marketing legal considerations.
• Strong board governance experience: consents, minutes, equity grants, etc.
• Solid employment law fundamentals to assist HR.

Responsibilities

• Guide compliance for all physical products, including international expansion and future product lines.
• Own privacy compliance (COPPA) and data usage/privacy for customers.
• Advise on regulatory considerations for entering new markets and commercial terms.
• Review and draft commercial agreements with vendors and partners; balance efficiency, quality, and risk.
• Help define new product categories and business models with legal input in real time.
• Manage FCC posture and know when to bring in outside specialists.
• Partner with People team on employment law issues, onboarding, and HR compliance.
• Support board governance activities: consents, minutes, equity grants, and capital raises.
• Decide what to keep in-house vs. outside counsel; manage budgets and relationships.
• Be the in-house resource for legal to support leadership and cross-functional teams.

Skills

In-house legal

Contract review

Regulatory compliance

Children’s privacy

International expansion

Board governance

Employment law

AI-assisted drafting

Go-to-market support

Job description

About Tin Can

Tin Can is building a safer, simpler way for kids to connect, without smartphones. We’re creating screen-free, delightful devices and services that let families call the people who matter most, free from the noise of today’s digital world.

We’re building a bold, authentic, nostalgic, and kinda quirky brand that resonates with folks who want something simpler & better for their kids than the tech-infused lives we’re currently living (and who have a sense of humor about it). As we gear up to scale to thousands of families, we’re ready to bring on a Head of Legal to help make it happen.

The Role

If we get something wrong in the fine print (a compliance gap on a new device, a contract that leaves us exposed, a regulatory question we didn’t see coming), it doesn’t stay a legal problem for long. It becomes a broken promise to the families who trusted us with their kids’ first phone. We’re looking for a Head of Legal to make sure that never happens: our senior-most in-house legal mind, and the first full-time legal hire embedded in the day-to-day of the company.

You’ll build on the foundation our fractional General Counsel has laid, partnering directly with our leadership team on the legal questions of building and selling physical, connected products, including FCC and telecom regulation, product compliance, children’s privacy, and international expansion. This isn’t a role for someone who wants to immediately manage a team of lawyers or delegate work away: you’re senior enough to own the strategic picture, but still hands-on yourself, building out the function, and a team if and when you decide we need one, as we scale.

What You’ll Do

• Guide compliance for every physical, connected product we sell to families, including internationally, and as we expand beyond a single device into new products and accessories, help build the compliance playbook for each new thing we launch
• Own our compliance with privacy laws, including COPPA and the growing set of state and international equivalents, as the person ultimately responsible for how we collect, use, and protect our customers’ data
• Support our go-to-market efforts as we expand into new countries, advising on the legal and regulatory considerations of entering new markets, from entity formation to product compliance to commercial terms
• Review and advise on our direct-to-consumer marketing, advertising claims, promotions, and privacy considerations as a lifestyle brand marketed to parents
• Draft, review, and redline our commercial agreements, including vendor and supplier contracts and partnership deals, deciding case by case what to handle yourself versus sending to outside counsel to balance efficiency, quality, and risk
• Help figure out the legal and structural path for new product categories, partnerships, and business models we haven’t tried before, in real time rather than from an existing playbook
• Own our regulatory and FCC posture; it’s a niche area, so get comfortable learning it fast and know when to bring in outside specialists to fill the gaps
• Be the in-house resource for our People team on employment law, including offer letters, the handbook, and day-to-day HR compliance, so we’re not paying outside counsel for routine matters; HR doesn’t report to you, but you’ll be a key partner HR hire and know when something needs a specialist
• Manage board mechanics, including consents, minutes, and equity grants, support capital raises, and keep our corporate governance, cap table, and equity matters clean and current
• Know what to keep in-house and what to send out; build and manage budgets and relationships with outside counsel and subject-matter experts (regulatory, IP, international, litigation), and bring them in efficiently when needed

What We’re Looking For

• 10+ years of legal experience, including meaningful in-house time at a high growth technology or hardware company
• Real entrepreneurial spirit and genuine willingness to do hands-on, detail-level work; you’re not too senior to redline an NDA yourself
• A clear, plain-English communicator who can turn legal risk into a decision the team can act on
• Familiarity with children’s privacy and data protection compliance (COPPA or international equivalents), or closely comparable consumer privacy work
• Experience with physical product compliance, including international requirements, is a plus
• Comfortable getting up to speed fast on FCC and telecom-adjacent regulatory work; expertise is a bonus, not a requirement
• Experience supporting international expansion and go-to-market efforts
• Familiarity with D2C consumer marketing legal considerations
• Solid grounding in board governance work: consents, minutes, equity grants, and related corporate matters
• Working knowledge of employment law fundamentals, enough to be a real resource to our HR team; deep specialization isn’t required
• Fluency using AI as a multiplier across contract review, research, and drafting; this is how we work, not a nice-to-have
• Low-ego and collaborative; you share credit and pitch in on problems that aren’t yours
• Based in Seattle and ready to work from our office 4+ days per week; this isn’t a remote role

Why Join Tin Can

We’re building tech that protects childhood: We’re on a quest to give kids a more analog childhood: one with real conversations, real connection, and way less screen time. No doomscrolling, data mining, or dopamine traps, just a simpler, better way for kids to stay in touch. This is a rare opportunity to build something that truly matters.

You’ll own the whole legal picture, not just a slice of it: From FCC filings to the NDA on your desk, you’ll be our first full-time legal hire, building the function, and eventually a team, as you go.

Small, high-trust team: Every company says “team,” but at Tin Can it means something different. We’re a small, mission-driven group that genuinely has each other’s backs, professionally and personally. You’ll be joining a tight-knit crew where your ideas and instincts matter from day one.

Room to explore, not just execute: You’ll have the space to explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and build a legal function that reflects our values of trust, simplicity, and care.

If you meet most of the qualifications above and you’re excited by the idea of protecting the promise we make to families, we can’t wait to meet someone who’s ready to jump in, own the legal picture end to end, and help us grow.