Senior Legal Counsel - Americas

ABB Inc.; Cary (NC); Remote; USD 164,000 - 262,000; Full time

Job summary

ABB Inc. is seeking a Senior Legal Counsel, Americas for ABB Electrification Service (ELSE). You will advise on complex commercial contracts, compliance, disputes, and strategic transactions, partnering with senior leaders and cross-functional teams across the Americas.

Based in a remote work model with hours aligned to Eastern Time, you will lead contract negotiation, risk assessment, and collaboration with global ABB lawyers to support sustainable growth across jurisdictions.

Qualifications

• JD with active bar admission in at least one relevant jurisdiction.
• 10+ years of in-house or law firm experience supporting industrial, engineering, technology, construction, or services businesses across multiple legal disciplines and jurisdictions in a multinational company.
• Ability to succeed in a highly collaborative environment while operating with appropriate autonomy; partner effectively with divisional, business area, regional, country, and specialist counsel; manage competing priorities across ABB.
• Strong commercial judgment with substantial experience in commercial contracts, disputes, strategic transactions, and cross-border matters, with the ability to identify material risks, develop practical options, support timely business decisions, and engage specialists when needed.

Responsibilities

• Advise business leaders across the Americas on legal risk, decision-making, and execution of strategic priorities, in coordination with relevant country, business area, and specialist counsel.
• Lead or support, as agreed within the regional legal team, the drafting, review, and negotiation of complex customer, supplier, service, subcontractor, channel partner, technology, and other commercial agreements across the Americas.
• Design scalable contract management processes, including playbooks, templates, and workflows, to improve efficiency and manage legal risk across high-volume transactions.
• Advise on tenders, contract risk reviews, claims, change orders, project execution, and dispute avoidance across service-intensive markets, including industrial services, utilities, data centers, infrastructure, and renewables.
• Manage litigation, arbitration, pre-litigation claims, settlements, and external counsel, including matter strategy, budgets, reporting, and quality assurance.
• Advise on employment and human resources matters, including performance management, investigations, terminations, reorganizations, immigration, and cross-border workforce issues, coordinating with specialists where appropriate.
• Provide strategic legal counsel on mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, divestitures, joint ventures, and restructuring activities globally, including deal structuring, due diligence, and post-closing integration support.
• Support other ABB divisions, business areas, and corporate functions as business needs require, with priorities and matter ownership coordinated through the relevant Legal & Integrity leadership and existing coverage teams.
• Collaborate actively with ABB lawyers across divisions, countries, specialist teams, and regions under agreed coverage models, matter-allocation principles, and escalation paths.

Education

Juris Doctor (JD) with bar admission

Active bar admission in at least one relevant jurisdiction

Job description

At ABB, we help industries run leaner and cleaner-and every person here makes that happen. You'll be empowered to lead, supported to grow, and proud of the impact we create together. Join us and help run what runs the world.

This position reports to:

Division General Counsel ELSE

In this role, you'll help run what runs the world, by taking on meaningful work that drives real impact.

As Senior Legal Counsel, Americas for ABB Electrification Service (ELSE), you will do more than manage legal risk. You will anticipate business needs, identify emerging issues, and serve as a trusted business partner to senior leaders and cross-functional teams. Working in ABB's highly collaborative regional and global Legal & Integrity environment, you will advise on complex commercial contracts, compliance and integrity, disputes, employment matters, and strategic transactions, translating legal risk into clear options and practical solutions that support sustainable growth across jurisdictions. ELSE will be the role's primary divisional responsibility, but the role may also support other ABB divisions as business needs require. The role is not the sole legal resource for ELSE or other supported divisions; effective coordination, allocation of work, and shared matter ownership with other ABB lawyers are essential.

The work model for the role is: remote (#Li-Remote), however the operating time zone will align closest with Eastern Time zone.

Your role and responsibilities:

• Advise business leaders across the Americas on legal risk, decision-making, and execution of strategic priorities, in coordination with relevant country, business area, and specialist counsel.
• Lead or support, as agreed within the regional legal team, the drafting, review, and negotiation of complex customer, supplier, service, subcontractor, channel partner, technology, and other commercial agreements across the Americas. Design scalable contract management processes, including playbooks, templates, and workflows, to improve efficiency and manage legal risk across high-volume transactions.
• Advise on tenders, contract risk reviews, claims, change orders, project execution, and dispute avoidance across service-intensive markets, including industrial services, utilities, data centers, infrastructure, and renewables.
• Manage litigation, arbitration, pre-litigation claims, settlements, and external counsel, including matter strategy, budgets, reporting, and quality assurance.
• Advise on employment and human resources matters, including performance management, investigations, terminations, reorganizations, immigration, and cross-border workforce issues, coordinating with specialists where appropriate.
• Provide strategic legal counsel on mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, divestitures, joint ventures, and restructuring activities globally, including deal structuring, due diligence, and post-closing integration support.
• Support other ABB divisions, business areas, and corporate functions as business needs require, with priorities and matter ownership coordinated through the relevant Legal & Integrity leadership and existing coverage teams.
• Collaborate actively with ABB lawyers across divisions, countries, specialist teams, and regions under agreed coverage models, matter-allocation principles, and escalation paths. Existing counsel remain accountable for matters within their assigned businesses, countries, or specialist areas unless responsibility is expressly reassigned; this role strengthens shared legal capacity and is not the default recipient for all ELSE or other divisional legal work.

Our Team Dynamics

Our teams support each other, collaborate, and never stop learning. Everyone brings something unique, and together we push ideas forward to solve real problems. Being part of our team means your work matters - because the progress we make here creates real impact out there.

Qualifications for the role:

Required Experience

• Juris Doctor (JD) with active bar admission in at least one relevant jurisdiction
• Minimum 10 years of in-house or law firm experience supporting industrial, engineering, technology, construction, or services businesses across multiple legal disciplines and jurisdictions in a multinational company.
• Ability to succeed in a highly collaborative environment while operating with appropriate autonomy; partner effectively with divisional, business area, regional, country, and specialist counsel; manage competing priorities across ABB; clarify ownership and scope; and advise senior stakeholders under time pressure.
• Strong commercial judgment and substantial experience in commercial contracts, disputes, strategic transactions, and cross-border matters, with the ability to identify material risks, develop practical options, support timely business decisions, and engage specialists when needed.

Preferred Experience

• Experience with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, or Harvey, preferred; if not experienced, demonstrated willingness to learn and quickly build AI fluency.
• Strong knowledge of anti-bribery and anti-corruption requirements relevant across the Americas, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and experience supporting internal investigations.
• Knowledge of professional, contractor, electrical licensing, and related regulatory requirements in one or more Americas jurisdictions, with the ability to coordinate local advice where needed.*
• Working knowledge of employment and human resources law in one or more Americas jurisdictions preferred, with the ability to identify when local specialist advice is required.
• Candidates must already have work authorization that would permit them to work for ABB in the US.

What's in it for you

We give you the space to lead, the support to grow, and the chance to make a difference. Whether you're solving problems, building something new, or helping others succeed, your impact is real. You'll be part of a team that values your voice and celebrates your progress.

ABB is an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affimative Action employer for protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities at ABB.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to their - sex (gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation), marital status, citizenship, age, race and ethnicity, inclusive of traits historically associated with race or ethnicity, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles, color, religious creed, national origin, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, genetic information, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal and state law.

For more information regarding your (EEO) rights as an applicant, please visit the following websites: https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12ScreenRdr.pdf

As an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affimative Action Employer for Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities, applicants may request to review the plan of a particular ABB facility between the hours of 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. EST Monday through Friday by contacting an ABB HR Representative at 1-888-694-7762.

Protected Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access ABB's career site as a result of your disability. You may request reasonable accommodations by calling an ABB HR Representative at 1-888-694-7762 or by sending an email to [e-mail]. Resumes and applications will not be accepted in this manner.

While base salary is determined by things such as the successful applicant's qualifications and experience, this position is expected to pay between $163,500 and $261,600 annually and is eligible for a short-term incentive plan/annual bonus.

AB Benefit Summary for eligible US employees

[excludes ABB E-mobility, Athens union, Puerto Rico]

Go to MyBenefitsABB.com and click on "Candidate/Guest" to learn more

Health, Life & Disability

• Choice between two medical plan options: A PPO plan called the Copay Plan OR a High Deductible Health Plan (with a Health Savings Account) called the High Deductible Plan.
• Choice between two dental plan options: Core and Core Plus
• Vision benefit
• Company paid life insurance (2X base pay)
• Company paid AD&D (1X base pay)
• Voluntary life and AD&D - 100% employee paid up to maximums
• Short Term Disability - up to 26 weeks - Company paid
• Long Term Disability - 60% of pay - Company paid. Ability to "buy-up" to 66 2/3% of pay.
• Supplemental benefits - 100% employee paid (Accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program
• Health Advocate support resources for mental/behavioral health, general health navigation and virtual health, and infertility/adoption
• Employee discount program

Retirement

• 401k Savings Plan with Company Contributions
• Employee Stock Acquisition Plan (ESAP)

Time off

ABB provides 11 paid holidays.Salaried exempt positions are provided vacation under a permissive time away policy.

Building a cleaner, smarter future takes all kinds of minds: the curious, the courageous, and the creative. That's why we welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences.

Ready to make an impact?