Senior Counsel, Strategic Partnerships

Academic Key; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Udemy seeks a Senior Counsel, Strategic Partnerships to lead commercial legal work with partners and negotiate technology deals on a global scale. The role reports to the Head of Commercial Legal, Strategic Growth, and supports B2B Enterprise, Technology Alliances, and Channel partnerships.

You will draft and negotiate complex agreements, advise GTM leadership, and shape scalable legal frameworks for a fast-growing, remote-first organization.

Qualifications

• This is a senior in-house legal role for a commercially driven lawyer.
• Exceptional business judgement balancing legal risk with commercial goals.
• Experience applying AI tools to increase legal productivity and governance obligations.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements across global channel partners, resellers, and technology collaborations.
• Advise senior stakeholders on deal structuring, risk allocation, and multi-jurisdictional GTM considerations.
• Develop legal frameworks to support self-serve and low-touch commercial motions, including API terms and licensing models.
• Own contracting templates, playbooks, and approval frameworks for partnerships.

Skills

Commercial negotiation

Executive communication

AI governance

Risk assessment

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

# Senior Counsel, Strategic Partnerships**Udemy** · RemoteRemote Remote✓ Link validatedAbout Coursera + Udemy Coursera and Udemy are now one company, bringing together two mission-driven brands to create the world’s most powerful platform for turning learning into progress. Together, we help more than 300 million learners and 12,000+ enterprise customers build the skills they need for a world being reshaped by AI. Why join us now? AI is transforming how people learn, work, and grow, and the need for new skills has never been greater. Coursera brings trusted content and credentials from leading university and industry partners, while Udemy brings a dynamic skills marketplace and global network of real-world experts. By combining these strengths, we can connect more people and organizations to the skills they need, when they need them. Shape what comes next By joining our team, you’ll have the opportunity to reshape how the world learns and applies skills—and help millions of people participate in the new economy. Bring your ideas, expertise, and perspective to meaningful work that can make a difference at global scale. Where we Work Udemy is a global company headquartered in San Francisco, with additional U.S. offices in Denver and Austin, and international hubs in Australia, India, Ireland, Mexico, and Türkiye. About this role This is a senior in-house legal role for a commercially driven lawyer ready to take commercial legal programs work with partners and negotiate technology deals. The role reports directly to the Head of Commercial Legal, Strategic Growth. We operate a hybrid go-to-market model that combines demand-led direct sales, solution-led growth, and indirect distribution through a tiered partner and channel ecosystem. We reach organizations globally through technology alliances, GSI relationships, channel partners, and reseller arrangements — powering learning and capability-building at scale. Legal sits at the center of all three motions. You will be a dedicated legal partner for B2B Enterprise, Technology Alliances, and Channel and Distribution Partnerships, supporting the development and negotiation of the indirect partner ecosystem that underpins our scalable distribution. This is a role for someone who combines deep transactional expertise with strong business instincts, operates with a high degree of independence, and is ready to grow into broader leadership responsibility within a scaling legal function. About your skills Exceptional business judgement and a proven ability to balance legal risk with commercial objectives in fast-moving deal environments. Executive-level communication skills: able to distill complex issues into clear, actionable guidance and influence stakeholders from SMB to large enterprise and C-suite. A track record of using approved AI tools to increase legal productivity, and staying current on AI governance obligations. What you’ll be doing B2B Enterprise, Ecosystems and Technology Transactions Take primary ownership of drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex commercial agreements across global system integrator arrangements, channel partner and reseller agreements, technology alliance and co-sell agreements, enterprise SaaS and platform licensing, API and technical integration agreements, and distribution and go-to-market partnerships. Advise senior business stakeholders, including GTM leadership, and Product teams, on deal structuring, risk allocation, commercial terms, and multi-jurisdictional GTM considerations, serving as the day-to-day legal lead who positions Legal as a genuine business enabler. Partner with the Product Legal team to develop and refine legal frameworks that support a self-serve and low-touch commercial motion, including API access agreements, developer terms, usage-based licensing structures, and SMB onboarding frameworks, contributing to a standardized, scalable approach that enables businesses to engage and onboard with speed and minimal friction. Provide clear, solution-focused guidance on AI-related commercial arrangements, data-sharing agreements, and emerging technology implementations as they enter the enterprise deal mix. Own and continuously develop the suite of enterprise and channel contracting templates, playbooks, negotiation guidelines, and approval frameworks used across the partnerships function. Design scalable legal infrastructure that empowers fast-moving deal teams to execute efficiently while maintaining sound risk controls across both direct and indirect channels. GTM Product Commercialisation and Third-Party Integration Act as a primary legal partner for the commercialisation of GTM products, advising on go-to-market structures, route-to-market models, pricing and packaging frameworks, and the legal terms that govern how products are brought to market directly and through third parties. Draft and negotiate agreements that govern the embedding, bundling, or distribution of our products within third-party platforms, marketplaces, and ecosystems, including white-label a