Lead Counsel, Strategic Alliances

Databricks Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 274,000 - 377,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks Inc. is seeking a seasoned Lead Counsel to support strategic technology partnerships and specialty initiatives. You will negotiate term sheets, coordinate cross-functional input from Product, Finance, Security, and more, and guide senior leadership with pragmatic legal advice in a fast-paced environment.

You will report to the VP & Associate General Counsel, Strategic Alliances & Integration, with hybrid in-office expectations across Seattle, Bellevue, San Francisco, or Mountain View.

Qualifications

• You have at least 10 years of legal experience at a national law firm or in-house in tech.
• You hold a J.D. and are a member in good standing of a state bar.
• You understand AI/foundation model platform tech and related contract models.
• You are fluent in partnering models including OEM, resale, and marketplace-driven deals.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage all legal aspects of selected Strategic Alliance technology transactions.
• Coordinate cross-functional stakeholders and secure board approvals when needed.
• Develop processes and templates to scale the strategic partner practice.

Skills

Strategic partnerships

Contract negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Open source licensing

AI/ML tech knowledge

Regulatory/compliance

Risk assessment

Executive communication

Education

J.D. from a top-tier law school

Job description

GAQ128R4

Location: We're hiring for this role locally to our offices based in Seattle or Bellevue, San Francisco, or Mountain View. This will be a hybrid role with in-office expectations.

Databricks is looking for a talented and experienced Lead Counsel to support strategic technology partnerships and other specialty initiatives. This position offers a unique opportunity to play a leading role in providing business-focused legal support for some of the most strategic and complex matters fueling Databricks' growth.

You will report to the VP & Associate General Counsel, Strategic Alliances & Integration

Strategic partnerships are an essential pillar to Databricks' providing the world's leading data & AI platform, integrating the broadest range of the latest leading technologies from proven partner providers. In this role, you will work closely with Databricks Strategic Alliances and cross-functional stakeholders, orchestrating advice and contributions across internal and external experts, and innovating to provide solutions in a rapidly evolving landscape.

A successful candidate will have deep proven experience navigating and negotiating complex, highly operational agreements with technology partners, including leading AI Model Providers and global hyperscalers, working with a wide range of internal stakeholders at all levels, including regular direct engagement with senior leadership. You must be an agile, resourceful self-starter, comfortable working in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, and excellent at building strong relationships and giving clear, pragmatic advice. You have a bias for action, enjoy building, thrive on finding creative solutions to new challenges, and value seeing your direct impact on the business.

The Impact You Will Have

• Lead and manage all legal aspects of selected Strategic Alliance technology transactions, including term sheet negotiations, running deal processes and negotiations, reviewing, drafting, and negotiating documents, securing and coordinating engagement and contributions from cross-functional stakeholders, including Product, Finance, Security, Procurement, Commercial Legal, Product Legal, GTM Legal, and other internal and external experts
• Facilitate closing of agreements, coordinating with Corporate Legal and Finance for Board approvals where needed, provide expert legal guidance and business-focused advice to clients, cross-functional teams, and leadership throughout the strategic deal process, while ensuring compliance with internal policies and applicable laws and regulations, and addressing integration and advisory issues arising post-signing within Legal and across the company
• Drive or provide legal support for other strategic transactions or projects, including collaborating in developing new partnering motions, and developing new processes and templates to scale our strategic partner practice

What We Look For

• You have at least 10 years of experience at a nationally recognized law firm and / or in-house legal department at a high-tech company
• You have a J.D. from a top-tier law school, and are a Member of a state bar in good standing
• You understand AI/foundation model platform technology and related contract models, and have deep experience partnering around both open source and proprietary technologies, and cloud or data-platform product partnerships
• You have familiarity with open source licensing models (e.g., Apache 2.0, MIT, model-specific community licenses) and their use with open weight models
• You are fluent in various partnering models, including OEM, resale, and marketplace-driven transactions, and related quote-to-cash implications
• You are comfortable and enjoy partnering directly with cross-functional teams to understand, incorporate, and enforce operational requirements in our partnership structures
• You are a critical thinker comfortable in speaking up and brainstorming productively, with a demonstrated ability to convey complex legal concepts clearly and concisely, thinking of future needs/issues, while executing on current activities.
• You have a programmatic mindset, experience managing multi-faceted projects, and an understanding of how to develop and simplify processes.
• You apply a highly collaborative and positive approach to working with legal colleagues and business partners, building strong relationships with internal stakeholders across geos and functions to ensure effective communication and collaboration.
• You have a hands-on approach in executing, a builder mindset able to work independently but seeking and welcoming supportive input as appropriate.
• You are experienced at understanding challenging issues, navigating ambiguous situations, assessing risk, making concise and pragmatic recommendations to senior leaders in a fast-paced environment, and applying a practical, balanced mindset to legal problem-solving.
• You are a self-starter with the capability to operate independently and to interact confidently with senior management when required, applying a strong work ethic, excellent organizational skills, and managing workflow to execute in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision

Pay Range Transparency

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.

Zone 1 Pay Range

$274,200—$377,100 USD

Pay Range Transparency

Databricks is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. The pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents the expected salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings for commissionable roles. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to job-related skills, depth of experience, relevant certifications and training, and specific work location. Based on the factors above, Databricks anticipates utilizing the full width of the range. The total compensation package for this position may also include eligibility for annual performance bonus, equity, and the benefits listed above. For more information regarding which range your location is in visit our page here.

Zone 2 Pay Range

$246,800—$339,350 USD

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including adidas, AT&T, Bayer, Block, Mastercard, Rivian, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in our region click here.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.