Toast is driven by building the all-in-one restaurant platform that helps restaurants operate their business, increase sales, engage guests, and keep employees happy.
We are seeking a highly experienced and strategic Senior Counsel to join our dynamic legal team. This pivotal role requires 8-10+ years of comprehensive legal experience advising product and engineering teams on complex legal frameworks. You will also provide senior-level counsel to our product marketing teams. You will play an instrumental role in shaping the development of creative and compliant products. This position offers a unique opportunity to apply deep legal expertise to both existing flagship products and to navigate the legal landscape for entirely new, cutting-edge offerings, all within a fun, collaborative environment that values strategic insights, creative problem-solving, and intellectual curiosity.
As Senior Counsel, Product, you will operate with significant autonomy, partnering deeply with core teams across the business including product, engineering, marketing, and compliance. You will cultivate a deep understanding of Toast’s existing and evolving products, strategies, and operational processes, leveraging this knowledge to proactively identify, advise on, and mitigate complex legal risks.
About This Roll* (Responsibilities):
- Strategic Legal Counsel: Provide comprehensive legal advice to a variety of stakeholders across product, engineering, and marketing teams throughout the entire product development lifecycle (from initial ideation and technical specification through and after launch, including the review of marketing strategies and assets).
- AI Expertise: Provide strategic legal guidance to product and engineering teams on the development, deployment, and ongoing operation of AI/ML systems and features.
- Playbook Development: Drive the development and continuous refinement of a robust, scalable playbook for Product Legal, specifically designed to support Toast’s growth.
- Complex Regulatory Navigation: Advise on and manage a broad range of highly complex legal issues, including multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance, advanced data privacy and protection (e.g., GDPR, CCPA, emerging global privacy frameworks), intellectual property strategy, marketing law, and consumer protection. Provide nuanced and actionable legal advice.
- Expertise & Foresight: Maintain deep expertise in, and proactively anticipate changes to, laws and regulations relating to the Toast platform. Translate complex legal developments into clear, actionable guidance for cross-functional partners.
- Creative Problem-Solving: Think creatively and strategically to navigate novel and complex regulatory environments, for smooth, compliant, and intuitive user experience across all product offerings.
- Cross-Functional Partnership: Cultivate strong, collaborative partnerships across multiple functions, exhibiting a deep understanding of Toast products' technical architecture and strategic objectives.
Do You Have The Right Ingredients*? (Requirements):
- A J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school, or the equivalent in your jurisdiction, and meet all professional and legal requirements necessary to practice law in your jurisdiction.
- 8-10+ years of legal experience, with a substantial portion spent advising technology or software companies, covering regulatory compliance, data privacy, marketing, intellectual property, and consumer protection across multiple jurisdictions.
- Demonstrated expertise in researching, interpreting, and providing actionable advice on a variety of complex laws and regulatory frameworks; deep expertise across all jurisdictions is not required, but a proven ability to master new legal landscapes is.
- Extensive in-house counsel experience advising product, engineering, and marketing teams on sophisticated legal issues related to new product development, complex enhancements, and feature requests including with respect to artificial intelligence, machine learning, generative AI applications, and data-driven features
- Proven ability to work effectively in fast-paced technology or software environments, managing multiple priorities and complex legal challenges independently.
- A highly solution-oriented, customer-service-driven, and growth mindset with a proactive approach to legal risk management.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a proven ability to distill complex legal concepts into clear, concise, and impactful advice for diverse business audiences, including senior leadership.
- A track record of successfully integrating into and leading legal advice within cross-functional teams with a cooperative, collaborative, and participatory approach.
Toast offers remote and hybrid work flexibility. Our Legal & Compliance teams are primarily concentrated in Boston, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, and San Francisco. Candidates residing in these areas will benefit from closer proximity to colleagues and greater access to company resources and events.
Our Spread* of Total Rewards
We strive to provide competitive compensation and benefits programs that help to attract, retain, and motivate the best and brightest people in our industry. Our total rewards package goes beyond great earnings potential and provides the means to a healthy lifestyle with the flexibility to meet Toasters’ changing needs. Learn more about our benefits at https://careers.toasttab.com/toast-benefits.
*We can't resist a good bread pun
#LI-DNI
The base salary range for this role is listed below. The starting salary will be determined based on skills and experience. In addition to base salary, our total rewards components include cash compensation (overtime, bonus/commissions, if eligible), benefits, and equity (if eligible).
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is Baked into our Recipe for Success
At Toast, our employees are our secret ingredient—when they thrive, we thrive. The restaurant industry is one of the most diverse, and we embrace that diversity with authenticity, inclusivity, respect, and humility. By embedding these principles into our culture and design, we create equitable opportunities for all and raise the bar in delivering exceptional experiences.
We Thrive Together
We embrace a hybrid work model that fosters in-person collaboration while valuing individual needs. Our goal is to build a strong culture of connection as we work together to empower the restaurant community. To learn more about how we work globally and regionally, check out: https://careers.toasttab.com/locations-toast.
Apply today!
Toast is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive hiring process. As part of this commitment, we strive to provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities to enable them to access the hiring process. If you need an accommodation to access the job application or interview process, please contact [email protected].
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For roles in the United States, It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.
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