Senior Counsel

About the role

Join us at Zendesk, where we're on a mission to power exceptional service for every person on the planet. We're accelerating that ambition by building products rooted in AI, automation, and intelligent customer experiences, because behind every interaction lies an opportunity to make a human connection.

Responsibilities

• Provide Strategic Guidance: Balance legal expertise with creative problem-solving to deliver risk-calibrated advice to our business leaders.
• Shape AI Strategy & Compliance: Navigate complex issues around building and selling AI software, such as: how to price and sell it; how to comply with an evolving global patchwork of AI safety laws (including building and executing actionable compliance plans); how to comply with longstanding global privacy laws (while collaborating with stellar privacy colleagues); and how to meet customer needs).
• Empower Sales & Marketing: Support AI trust and customer enablement initiatives. Collaborate with Commercial Legal to leverage compliance as a tool to accelerate customer deals.
• Engage with Regulators and Industry Groups: Act as a key liaison with relevant AI regulatory authorities when needed, and collaborate with industry groups to develop regulatory engagement goals and strategy.
• Foster Internal Innovation: Champion AI adoption within the legal department. Apply technology creatively to improve legal review processes, efficiently identify risks, and enable rapid innovation.
• Educate & Communicate: Translate complex legal requirements—for both AI development and internal usage—into clear, actionable insights for company leadership and stakeholders.
• Mentor & Lead: Guide junior colleagues, fostering overall team growth and development.

Requirements

• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong understanding of the global regulatory environment, ideally with experience applying the EU AI Act, GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.
• Business-Minded Pragmatism: A track record of building trust with product and engineering teams by combining legal expertise, data-driven analysis, and practical problem-solving.
• Strategic Vision: The ability to see the big picture and prioritize impactful, practical ways to support company goals.
• Agility & Ownership: Decisive and action-oriented. Single-owner mentality, excelling in project execution and moving complex initiatives to completion even amidst uncertainty.
• Strong Prioritization: Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment while effectively adjusting strategies in response to shifting priorities, legal developments, and evolving risk tolerance.
• Adaptability: Proven ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects in a fast-paced environment, adjusting strategies as company goals, legal landscapes, and risk tolerances evolve.
• Collaborative Spirit: Strong communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work cross-functionally when necessary. Adept at collaborating and respecting subject-matter experts, without relying on other teams to make product legal decisions.
• Growth Mindset: Interest in continuously learning and growing; no task is too big or small.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of legal experience, with at least 3+ years in-house, preferably at a global technology company.
• Licensed to practice law in your jurisdiction.

Skills

• Experience advising AI and/or software product development teams.
• Interest in using AI technology to optimize processes and solve problems.

Benefits

At Zendesk, we believe in offering our people a fulfilling and inclusive experience. Our hybrid way of working, enables us to purposefully come together in person, at one of our many Zendesk offices around the world, to connect, collaborate and learn whilst also giving our people the flexibility to work remotely for part of the week.

Pay

The US annualized base salary range for this position is $259,000.00-$389,000.00. This position may also be eligible for bonus, benefits, or related incentives. While this range reflects the minimum and maximum value for new hire salaries for the position across all US locations, the offer for the successful candidate for this position will be based on job related capabilities, applicable experience, and other factors such as work location.

Schedule

This role is fully remote.