Senior Employment Counsel

Sonar; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Anchor in-office days Mon/Tue/Thu

Job summary

Sonar, headquartered in Austin, TX, is seeking an exceptional employment lawyer to join our legal team in Austin. You will drive initiatives on hiring, performance management, terminations, leaves and investigations across global operations.

You will work with the Head of Global Employment Law to roll out policies, trainings, and compliance initiatives, while solving complex employee-relations issues and shaping scalable processes as Sonar grows in a fast-paced tech environment.

Qualifications

• J.D. degree and active bar admission in good standing (Texas bar or eligible for in-house status).
• 5+ years of employment law experience, preferably in-house at a multinational tech company.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. employment law, including California.
• Experience with cross-border employment matters (EMEA/APJ) is a plus.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Willingness to roll up sleeves and own projects in a fast-growing environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide global employment law counsel on hiring, performance management, terminations, leaves, wage and hour, and investigations.
• Drive policy rollouts, trainings, and compliance initiatives with cross-functional teams.
• Advise on employee relations issues and organizational change with compliant solutions.
• Identify and streamline processes with stakeholders to meet compliance expectations.
• Support global expansion efforts, privacy, equity, immigration, and M&A integration.

Skills

Employment law knowledge US incl CA

In-house experience

Communication & influence

Initiative & domain leadership

Adaptability & ownership

Global fluency

Education

J.D. degree

Job description

Who is Sonar?

Sonar enables organizations to ship agentic code with confidence. Code creation is abundant, but confidence is scarce. Our core platform, SonarQube, verifies over 750 billion lines of code every day, delivering agentic verification and governance for all code. Trusted by more than 7 million developers and 75% of the Fortune 100, including teams at Nvidia, ServiceNow, Booking.com, Goldman Sachs, AstraZeneca, and Ford Motor Company, Sonar enables organizations to reduce outages, improve security, and lower the cost and risk of agentic software development.

Founded in Geneva and now headquartered in Austin, Texas, Sonar has a global team working across offices and hubs, including Silicon Valley, London, Bochum, Barcelona, Singapore, Tokyo, and the Washington, D.C. area. At Sonar, we’re enabling enterprises to build agentic software factories that can move quickly while maintaining the control, consistency and evidence required to ship with confidence.

Position description

We are looking for an exceptional and dynamic employment lawyer to join our team in Austin, TX. As a key member of our legal team, you will drive initiatives and manage critical matters relating to employment compliance. We are seeking a proactive, solution-oriented thinker who is ready to take ownership and build scalable processes as Sonar grows. We need someone who doesn't just advise–someone who rolls up their sleeves, drives projects to completion, and enjoys solving hard problems. This role reports to the Head of Global Employment Law.

What you will do

• Provide global employment law counsel on hiring, performance management, terminations, leaves/accommodations, wage and hour, and investigations in the USA, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, Singapore, Japan, the UAE, and various EOR locations, with the support of outside counsel.


• Drive cross-functional projects (policy rollouts, trainings, compliance initiatives) forward in partnership with the Head of Global Employment Law.


• Provide creative, compliant, and business-enabling solutions regarding sensitive employee relations issues, and organizational change.


• Independently identify opportunities to streamline processes and partner with functional stakeholders to drive change management to meet compliance expectations.


• Embrace new challenges and manage a dynamic workload of emergent legal issues, supporting high-growth company initiatives relating to global expansion, employee privacy, equity, immigration, compliance, and M&A integration.


• Advise on global compensation, pay equity, and benefits compliance.

Experience and qualifications

The ideal candidate will:

• Strong Legal Foundation: Hold a J.D. degree and active bar admission in good standing (Texas bar or eligible for registered in-house status) with 5+ years of employment law experience, preferably in-house at a multinational organization and/or fast-growing tech company.


• Initiative & Domain Leadership: Have deep knowledge of U.S. employment law, including California. Preference for experience with employment law in EMEA (Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, UAE) and/or APJ (Japan, Singapore) markets.


• Exceptional Communication & Influence: Demonstrated ability to develop strong, collaborative relationships with key stakeholders and teams across the business, backed by excellent communication skills.


• Adaptability & Ownership: The ability to prioritize, manage multiple work streams, and maintain composure in a fast-paced environment.


• Start-up Mentality: A willingness to roll up your sleeves, clear blockers, think creatively, and consistently find solutions to support the business in driving projects to completion.


• Global Fluency: Excellent English written/verbal communication skills and flexibility with your work schedule to accommodate occasional calls outside of your regular time zone.

In-office culture

We're intentional about this. We believe the best teams are built in the room together. Three anchor days — Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays — create the collaboration rhythm that makes a hub office worth having.

Candidates need to be genuinely based in the location the role is posted — if that’s not where you are today, we’re happy to support relocation for the right person.

We value diversity, equity, and inclusion

At Sonar, we believe that our diversity is our strength. We are a global company that values and respects different backgrounds, perspectives, and cultures. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and welcome all qualified applicants, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.

If you need any accommodation, please reach out to us at [e-mail].

All offers of employment at Sonar are contingent upon the results of a comprehensive background check and reference verification conducted before the start date.

Applications that are submitted through agencies or third party recruiters will not be considered.