Director, Legal
At Submittable, we are transforming how organizations create social impact. Our platform empowers thousands of mission-driven organizations, from nonprofits to government entities, to make a difference in their communities and beyond. In 2024, our innovative software helped organizations worldwide run 30,000 programs, welcomed 1.2 million applicants, and facilitated the distribution of more than $10 billion in funding through our products on behalf of our clients.
We are on a mission to help organizations accelerate their impact, so we are proud to partner with organizations focused on Equity & Social Justice, Children & Education, Creative & Arts, Health & Wellness, Economic Justice & Opportunity, and Environment & Climate. At Submittable, technology and purpose converge, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful change.
About the Role
Submittable is hiring a Director, Legal to lead our legal function as we scale our SaaS business. You'll be a hands-on legal leader, responsible for day-to-day legal operations, the legal team, and the policies and processes that let Submittable grow with confidence. You'll manage the legal team and serve as a primary resource on privacy law, customer contract negotiation, and product and technology intellectual property matters, while also advising on the broader range of legal issues a growing SaaS company faces. This role reports to the CFO and works closely with teams across the organization and with the executive leadership team.
What You’ll Do
- Lead the day-to-day legal function, setting priorities and standards for how legal work gets done across the company.
- Build, manage, and mentor a legal team, including hiring, workload distribution, and professional development.
- Serve as a primary resource on data privacy and security law (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other U.S. and international privacy regimes), including policy development and incident response.
- Negotiate customer contracts, including MSAs, order forms, DPAs, and enterprise procurement paperwork, balancing legal risk against deal velocity.
- Advise Product and Engineering on intellectual property matters, including IP ownership, licensing, open-source usage, and protection of proprietary technology.
- Partner with Sales and Revenue Operations to maintain contracting playbooks, standard terms, and approval thresholds that let deals move quickly without unnecessary escalation.
- Manage outside counsel relationships and legal spend across litigation, IP, and specialty areas.
- Advise company leadership on governance, risk, and compliance matters, escalating to the executive team as needed.
- Support employment law matters in partnership with People/HR, including policy review and workplace investigations as needed.
- Monitor the regulatory and legislative landscape relevant to SaaS, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and the sectors Submittable serves, and translate changes into practical guidance for the business.
- Manage the contract lifecycle management approach and legal operations tooling.
- Collaborate with the Finance team to address and collect overdue customer accounts, utilizing escalation procedures and legal remedies as appropriate.
- Establish and track key performance indicators for the Legal department to assess progress and fuel continuous process improvement, including the integration of AI-driven workflow automation.
- Support M&A, corporate transactions, and other strategic initiatives as they arise.
What We’re Looking For
- J.D. and active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state.
- 8+ years of legal experience, including at least 3 years in-house at a B2B SaaS or technology company. Private equity-backed experience is a plus.
- At least 3 years of hands-on experience negotiating SaaS customer contracts, including MSAs, DPAs, and complex order forms.
- Experience managing or mentoring attorneys and legal professionals, with an interest in building and growing a legal team.
- Strong expertise in data privacy and security law, with hands-on experience supporting privacy programs and responding to regulatory change.