Senior Employment Counsel - Global HR, AI & M&A

Databricks Inc.; Seattle, Bellevue (WA, WA); On-site; USD 198,000 - 272,000; Full time

Job summary

Databricks is seeking a Sr. Counsel, Employment to provide sophisticated legal advice to the People Team and business leaders across the United States and global operations, with a focus on HR AI adoption, compensation and benefits, and pay equity.

Based in the U.S., you will lead cross‑functional projects, oversee employee privacy, mobility, M&A diligence, and employment terms, while partnering with regional teams to ensure practical, precise guidance and timely responses to disputes.

Qualifications

• JD from a top-tier law school; member of a state bar in good standing.
• 10+ years of relevant employment-law experience, with substantial experience advising sophisticated organizations; in-house experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with compensation, benefits, pay equity, executive compensation, recruiting, global mobility, and immigration.
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments, including employment and benefits diligence, employee-related deal terms, and workforce integration.
• Experience leading multi-jurisdictional or global projects and coordinating stakeholders across regions, functions, and levels of seniority.
• Experience advising on employee privacy, workforce data, HR technology, and AI tools is strongly preferred.
• Exceptional drafting skills and ability to produce precise, clear, audience-appropriate documents.
• Strong project-management skills and ability to define scope, manage dependencies, and meet deadlines.
• Ability to move quickly with high accuracy and escalate when needed.
• Ability to build relationships with executive stakeholders.
• Genuine enthusiasm for AI and emerging technology.
• Client-service orientation, bias for action, and highest integrity.

Responsibilities

• Advise on cash compensation programs, bonus and incentive plans, clawback policies, equal-pay requirements, pay equity reviews, and related disclosures; lead or support pay equity projects.
• Provide legal advice on employee benefits, including retirement plans, welfare and wrap plans, severance plans, leave-related benefits, and country-specific protections.
• Draft, review, and update employment-related plans, policies, agreements, templates, and communications with precision.
• Advise recruiting on candidate-facing issues, offer letters, employment agreements, compensation terms, background checks, and negotiations.
• Advise on global mobility and immigration matters, including transfers, international assignments, and work authorization.
• Support employment-related aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic investments; diligence, workforce mapping, deal terms, retention and integration.
• Advise on employee privacy and data-use issues; governance of HR systems and bias considerations.
• Review HR AI tools and workflows, including vendor diligence and risk assessment.
• Lead global employment-related projects with scoping, timelines, budgets, and stakeholder coordination.
• Monitor legal developments affecting compensation, benefits, privacy, AI, and mobility; translate into practical guidance.

Skills

employment law

pay equity

global mobility

AI adoption

project management

executive communications

cross-functional collaboration

Education

JD from a top-tier law school

Job description

Databricks is seeking a Sr. Counsel, Employment to provide sophisticated legal advice to the People Team and business leaders across the United States and global operations, with a focus on HR AI adoption, compensation and benefits, and pay equity.

Based in the U.S., you will lead cross‑functional projects, oversee employee privacy, mobility, M&A diligence, and employment terms, while partnering with regional teams to ensure practical, precise guidance and timely responses to disputes.