Senior General Counsel – Crypto, Fintech & Compliance

SEI; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

SEI is hiring a General Counsel to lead the legal function at the Sei Development Foundation. The role combines drafting contracts, negotiating deals, building a scalable compliance program, and engaging regulators to align legal risk with business strategy.

The successful candidate will create templates and playbooks, oversee external counsel, and serve as the internal owner of legal risk across partnerships, tokens, and governance in a fast-growing fintech/crypto environment.

Qualifications

• J.D. from a top-tier law school and active bar membership in at least one US jurisdiction.
• 6+ years of legal experience in financial services, fintech, payments, or capital markets regulation.
• Proven track record building legal infrastructure for high-growth companies.
• Hands-on executor: drafts, negotiates, and manages contracts and policies.

Responsibilities

• Own all legal, regulatory, and compliance functions across the foundation and its ecosystem activities.
• Draft, negotiate, and manage contracts — vendor agreements, grants, investment docs, and partnerships.
• Manage outside counsel relationships across jurisdictions with clear in-house vs. external work boundaries.
• Build the compliance program from scratch — AML/sanctions controls, KYC frameworks, internal policies.
• Act as strategic advisor to founders on governance, token-related activities, and high-stakes decisions.

Skills

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Regulatory strategy

Cross-functional collaboration

Policy & governance

Education

J.D. from a top-tier law school

Job description

SEI is hiring a General Counsel to lead the legal function at the Sei Development Foundation. The role combines drafting contracts, negotiating deals, building a scalable compliance program, and engaging regulators to align legal risk with business strategy.

The successful candidate will create templates and playbooks, oversee external counsel, and serve as the internal owner of legal risk across partnerships, tokens, and governance in a fast-growing fintech/crypto environment.