IP/Product Counsel

Chainguard; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Chainguard in the United States is seeking an IP/Product Counsel to protect, monetize, and scale our open source software initiatives. You will manage the IP portfolio, advise on licensing, terms of service, and privacy implications for new products and features.

You will collaborate with product and engineering teams from early development through launch, lead enforcement when licenses are violated, and build scalable processes for an evolving function.

Qualifications

• Legal degree or equivalent experience in IP law.
• Experience with open source licensing terms and enforcement.
• Ability to partner with product and engineering teams on licensing and terms of service.

Responsibilities

• Own and grow Chainguard's international IP portfolio.
• Lead IP enforcement efforts, including cease-and-desist actions for license violations.
• Serve as a go-to legal resource for open source licensing questions from engineering.
• Advise product teams on licensing, IP, and terms of service across launches.
• Draft and review product terms and terms of service for new launches.
• Advise on licensing considerations in partner and joint development agreements.
• Partner with product and engineering teams early to address legal considerations before launch.
• Build scalab

Skills

IP law

Open source licensing

Trademark

Copyright

Patent transactions

Product teams collaboration

Job description

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk. Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake. Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital. The role, in a nutshell:

We're looking for our first IP/Product Counsel to help Chainguard protect, monetize, and scale what we're building. Chainguard moves quickly. As a result, open source licensing questions, product launch nuances, and IP protection are part of the day-to-day business, not occasional legal requests.

This role sits at the intersection of IP and product. You'll manage our growing IP portfolio, lead enforcement efforts when our licensing terms are violated, and work closely with product and engineering teams as they build and launch new products and features.

This is a role with a significant runway. We're not looking for someone to walk in and build a fully staffed function on day one. We're looking for someone who can take ownership, build scalable processes, and grow the function over time.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in IP law, particularly open source licensing, trademark and copyright, with patent and technology transactions experience as a plus. You'll also have experience working closely with product teams, including drafting product terms, reviewing terms of service, and advising on the relevant privacy, licensing, and IP implications of new products and features.

You should be comfortable working across both sides of IP: proactively building protections for the company and enforcing those protections when needed. Fluency in open source licensing is required, including knowledge of standard permissive and copyleft licenses (e.g., MIT, Apache 2.0, BSD, GPL, LGPL, MPL) and non-standard (e.g. dual license) , as you'll work with engineering teams on open source questions on a regular basis.

What You’ll Do:

• Own and grow Chainguard's international IP portfolio
• Lead IP enforcement efforts, including cease-and-desist actions involving customers or competitors who violate our licensing terms
• Serve as a go-to legal resource for open source licensing questions from engineering
• Advise product teams on licensing, IP, and terms of service considerations across multiple concurrent product and feature launches
• Draft and review product terms and terms of service for new launches
• Advise on licensing considerations in partner and joint development agreements
• Partner with product and engineering teams early in the development process to identify and address legal considerations before launch
• Build scalab