Senior Counsel, Governance

Oyster HR; United States; Remote; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Oyster HR is seeking a Senior Counsel, Governance for a fully remote global role focused on entity formation, licensing decisions, and governance for expansion. You will partner with our Global Expansion team to structure new entities, set up governance processes, and ensure audit-ready operations across jurisdictions.

This 12-month engagement offers high ownership over critical work and the opportunity to build scalable governance practices in a fast-moving, distributed environment.

Qualifications

• Licensed attorney in good standing
• Experience with cross-border expansions and licensing
• Strong drafting and analytical skills

Responsibilities

• Lead governance and entity-structuring decisions for new direct launches, including form, ownership, and licensing paths.
• Drive practical launch work: filings, agents, appointments, banking, and compliance until launch is complete.

Skills

Governance experience

Entity formation

Regulatory compliance

Leadership

Education

Juris Doctor (JD)

Job description

One platform, a whole world of opportunityThe best jobs have always clustered in a handful of the world's wealthiest cities. But talent is everywhere. Oyster set out to close that gap - building a global employment platform that lets companies hire, pay, and care for brilliant people anywhere.We're proof that a high-performing culture doesn't need an office. Distributed across 60+ countries since 2020, we've built something the industry keeps noticing:Ranked #10 of 250 on TIME and Statista's 2026 list of America's Top WorkTech Companies Named one of America's Greatest Startup Workplaces 2026 by NewsweekA G2 Spring 2026 Leader across Employer of Record, Global Employment, Multi-country Payroll, and HR ComplianceThe only B Corp-certified global employment platform ~ independently verified since 2023Two of those rankings measured our business impact from the outside. One measured how our own people feel about working here. They landed in the same place ~ because at Oyster, culture and performance aren't separate conversations. They're the same one.And we're just getting started. If you want to do the best work of your career alongside people who care as much as you do, we'd love for you to apply.

Location:

While this position is posted in a specific location, all of Oyster’s positions are fully remote and you can work from home. Forever.To create the best experience for our new hire, this role requires you to be based within +3 / -3 UTC.

Role Summary

Are you a governance-minded lawyer who thrives on ambiguity, ownership, and building something from scratch? As our Senior Counsel, Governance, you'll join Oyster's Legal team as the dedicated governance and entity-formation counsel supporting Global Expansions. Working directly with our Global Expansion team, you will be making the structuring and licensing calls for legal entities, and then personally rolling up your sleeves to help get it formed, filed, and audit-ready. Beyond launch, you own the hands-on administrative work of standing up each entity, and you’ll help build scalable governance processes to ensure operational readiness and a smooth transition to our legal entity management team.This is a 12-month, fixed-term engagement built for someone who wants outsized ownership over a fast-moving, high-visibility program, and who's comfortable being both the strategist and the person actually doing the work.

Key Responsibilities

• Entity Structuring Formation: Lead governance and structuring decisions for each new direct entity launch, determining the right corporate form, ownership structure, and licensing pathway for each jurisdiction.
• Hands-On Launch Execution: Personally drive the practical work of standing up new entities, coordinating filings, registered agents/local service providers, director and officer appointments, bank account and licensing paperwork, and other set-up tasks needed to get each entity live and compliant, ahead of dedicated launch support coming online later in the project. Re