Lead Employment Counsel

Remote; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 164,000 - 231,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Mental health resources

Financial wellness benefits

Parental leave

401(k) with company match

Paid holidays

Paid sick leave

Paid vacation

Job summary

Greenhouse is seeking a Lead Employment Counsel to serve as the dedicated employment lawyer for the People team and business leaders across the US and our international footprint. You’ll advise on the full employee lifecycle, including policies, agreements, and contractor arrangements, with a hands-on, high-ownership approach.

This role requires 7+ years of labor and employment experience, strong judgment, and the ability to scale policies, training, and guidance across a growing global

Qualifications

• JD from an accredited law school and active bar membership in at least one US state.
• 7+ years of labor and employment law experience at a law firm and/or in-house.
• Deep knowledge of US federal and multi-state employment law, especially wage and hour.
• Experience advising on employment matters outside the US with EOR/providers.
• Track record of managing employment litigation with outside counsel.
• Experience with workforce planning and management.
• Owning employment policies, agreements, and compensation plan terms; conducting or overseeing workplace investigations.
• Excellent communication and training skills; able to advise non-lawyers and executives.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary legal advisor to the People team and business leaders on employee relations, performance management, terminations, leaves, and accommodations.
• Lead wage and hour compliance, including FLSA/state exemptions, timekeeping, overtime, and audits.
• Review and advise on compensation programs, including sales commissions, bonuses, and pay equity analyses.
• Draft, negotiate, and maintain employment documents, policies, and handbook content with state/country supplements.
• Conduct or oversee workplace investigations and manage employment litigation with outside counsel.
• Advise on employment law outside the US and support employer of record/ contractor arrangements.
• Build training for managers/HR, create self-serve resources, and update leadership on legal developments.
• Collaborate on AI in hiring and data retention, and support product launches with legal input.
• Support M&A due diligence and integration; manage outside counsel relationships and budgets.

Skills

US employment law

Wage & hour compliance

Litigation management

Policy drafting

Training & stakeholder support

AI in employment decisions

In-house experience

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

US state bar admission

Job description

Defining the future of work & living globally

Greenhouse is the first Orchestrated Hiring Ecosystem: a single place that brings the right person and the right role together at the right time. Our mission is to make hiring work for everyone – so we go to great lengths to hire great people because we believe that they’re the foundation of our success. At Greenhouse, you’ll join a team that collaborates purposefully, fosters inclusivity, and communicates with transparency and accountability so we can achieve our mission.

Join us to do the best work of your career, solving meaningful problems with remarkable teams.

Greenhouse is looking for a Lead Employment Counsel to join our team!

Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, you'll be Greenhouse's dedicated employment lawyer and the go-to legal partner for our People team and business leaders. You'll advise across the full employee lifecycle in the US and our international footprint, including employer of record and contractor arrangements, own our employment policies and agreements, and manage outside counsel on litigation and specialized matters.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership role. In a single day you might walk an HR business partner through an accommodation request, mark up a sales commission plan, and prepare for a mediation. You'll also build the training, templates, and self-service guidance that let a busy People team handle routine questions with confidence and ...

Who will love this job

A trusted advisor - you build credibility quickly with HR partners, managers, and executives, and you turn legal risk into plain, practical guidance they can act on

A builder who scales - as the sole employment specialist, you prioritize well and multiply your impact through policies, playbooks, and training rather than answering every question one at a time

A detail-obsessed drafter - you sweat the language in agreements, policies, and compensation plans because you know that's where the risk lives

A pragmatic, curious lawyer - you track a fast-moving landscape (pay transparency, restrictive covenants, new leave mandates, AI in employment decisions) and make sound calls grounded in ethics, integrity, and the human impact of every decision

What you’ll do

Serve as the primary legal advisor to the People team (HR business partners, People Operations, Total Rewards, and Talent Acquisition) and business leaders on employee relations, performance management, terminations, reductions in force, leaves of absence, and accommodations

Lead wage and hour compliance, including FLSA and state exemption classification, timekeeping and overtime practices, payroll issues, and periodic classification audits in partnership with Total Rewards

Review and advise on compensation programs, including sales commission and bonus plans, overpayment recoupment, privileged pay equity analyses, and pay transparency requirements

Draft, negotiate, and maintain employment documents and policies, including offer letters, confidentiality and invention assignment agreements, restrictive covenants, separation and contractor agreements, and handbook content with state and country supplements

Conduct or oversee workplace investigations, and manage employment litigation matters with outside counsel, from demand letters and EEOC through class and representative actions, mediation, and settlement

Advise on employment law outside the US, supporting employer of record and contractor arrangements, entity launches, temporary work-from-abroad requests, and relocations alongside local and immigration counsel

Build and deliver training for managers, HR, and recruiters, create self-serve resources, and share clear, actionable updates on legal developments with Legal and People leadership

Partner with Product, Privacy, and HR technology stakeholders on the use of AI in hiring and employment decisions, vendor assessments, employee and candidate data retention, and the employment law implications of product launches

Support M&A diligence and integration, benefits and EEO/affirmative action compliance, manage outside counsel relationships and budgets, and represent Greenhouse externally as an employment law subject matter expert

Additional projects and responsibilities as business needs require

You should have

JD from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one US state bar

7+ years of labor and employment law experience at a law firm and/or in-house

Deep knowledge of US federal and multi-state employment law, especially wage and hour

Experience advising on employment matters outside the US and working with employer of record providers and local counsel

A track record of managing employment litigation with outside counsel, including settlement strategy

Experience with workforce planning and management

Experience owning employment policies, agreements, and compensation plan terms, and conducting or overseeing workplace investigations

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including giving practical advice to non-lawyers and executives and designing engaging training, plus the judgment and organization to work independently as the subject matter expert

Experience using AI tools effectively while verifying output, protecting privileged and employee data, and keeping final legal judgment human

In-house experience, strongly preferred

Familiarity with the HR tech industry, a plus

Your own unique talents! Your background has given you a unique perspective and set of transferable skills that aren't always in alignment with a given role - but those are qualities we value at Greenhouse. If you don't meet 100% of the qualifications outlined above, we still strongly encourage you to apply

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

If you are based in California, we encourage you to read this important information for California residents linked here .

The national pay range for this role is $163,800 - $230,680. Individual compensation will be commensurate with the candidate's experience and qualifications. Certain roles may be eligible for additional compensation, including stock option awards, bonuses, and merit increases. Additionally, certain roles have the opportunity to receive sales commissions that are based on the terms of the sales commission plan applicable to the role.

Greenhouse provides a variety of benefits to employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, basic life insurance, mental health resources, financial wellness benefits, and a fully paid parental leave program. For US-based employees, we offer short-term and long-term disability coverage, a 401(k) plan and company match. U.S. based employees also receive, per calendar year, up to 14 scheduled paid holidays and up to 80 hours of paid sick leave. Non-exempt employees accrue up to 20-25 days of paid vacation time annually, depending on tenure, and exempt employees have flexible paid time off (PTO).

The anticipated closing date for this role is December 18th, 2026.