Senior Legal Counsel

We are seeking a highly motivated and versatile Senior Legal Counsel to join our in-house Legal team. This is a unique opportunity to significantly amplify the capabilities of our General Counsel, by owning numerous legal workstreams and acting as embedded General Counsel for our portfolio companies while shaping the legal framework for next-generation decentralized finance.

Location: Remote in the U.S. - Eastern, Central, or Pacific Timezone

Thesis is at the forefront of building the future of Bitcoin DeFi. We are seeking a highly motivated and versatile Senior Legal Counsel to join our in-house Legal team. This is a unique opportunity to significantly amplify the capabilities of our General Counsel, by owning numerous legal workstreams and acting as embedded General Counsel for our portfolio companies while shaping the legal framework for next-generation decentralized finance.

You will be instrumental in drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of DeFi commercial agreements including market making, liquidity provision, and protocol partnership agreements; working cross-functionally with product, engineering, and business development teams to identify and resolve product counsel issues; developing regulatory strategies for novel DeFi products; and building scalable legal infrastructure for a rapidly growing ecosystem.

Commercial and protocol operations:

• Structure and negotiate complex commercial arrangements including: protocol-to-protocol integrations, institutional custody agreements, OTC trading arrangements, strategic token swaps, and grant programs

• Draft and negotiate venture investment documents, SAFTs, token warrants, and other Web3-native investment instruments

• Develop standardized legal frameworks for DeFi primitives including automated market makers, lending protocols, liquid staking, and cross-chain bridges

• Review and advise on smart contract architecture from a legal risk perspective

Regulatory and compliance:

• Monitor evolving global cryptocurrency regulations and advise on implications for product roadmaps

• Oversee KYC/AML/sanctions compliance programs, including risk-based decision frameworks and on-chain monitoring protocols

• Assist with development of policies for SEC, CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC compliance in the context of decentralized systems

Product and technology counsel:

• Collaborate with product teams from ideation through launch, identifying legal risks and designing compliant product features

• Advise on intellectual property strategy including open-source licensing, patent strategy, and trademark protection

• Support developer relations initiatives including hackathons, grants programs, validator program and ecosystem funds

• Review technical documentation, whitepapers, and marketing materials for regulatory compliance

Corporate and governance:

• Structure entity formations for DAOs, foundations, and operating companies across multiple jurisdictions

• Design and implement token holder governance frameworks and voting mechanisms

• Manage corporate housekeeping for portfolio companies including board meetings, equity management, and subsidiary coordination

• Support M&A transactions, strategic partnerships, and joint ventures in the Web3 space

Risk management and operations:

• Develop and maintain legal playbooks for common scenarios (security incidents, regulatory investigations, litigation)

• Build risk matrices for new product launches and business initiatives

• Create self-service resources and training programs to enable business teams

Required qualifications:

• Experience: 6-10 years of combined experience at top-tier law firms and/or in-house legal departments, with at least 3 years focused on blockchain, cryptocurrency, or fintech

• Education: J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school with strong academic credentials

• Bar admission: Active membership in at least one U.S. state bar

• Technical competency: Demonstrated understanding of blockchain technology, smart contracts, consensus mechanisms, and cryptographic primitives

• Regulatory knowledge: Deep familiarity with securities laws, commodities regulations, money transmission laws, and Bank Secrecy Act requirements as applied to digital assets

Preferred qualifications:

• DeFi expertise: Hands-on experience with DeFi protocols, particularly Bitcoin L2s, sidechains, and wrapped asset bridges

• International experience: Exposure to offshore entity structuring, particularly Cayman, BVI, and LATAM

• Transaction experience: Track record of closing complex commercial transactions in crypto

Core competencies and candidate profile:

• Builder mentality: You thrive in ambiguous environments and excel at creating structure from first principles. You're energized by the opportunity to build legal frameworks for entirely new paradigms

• Commercial pragmatism: You balance legal risk with business objectives, finding creative solutions that protect the company while enabling innovation

• Technical curiosity: You're genuinely interested in understanding how protocols work at a technical level and can engage meaningfully with engineering teams

• Cross-cultural competence: You can work effectively with global teams across different time zones and cultural contexts

• High velocity execution: You can context-switch between multiple complex matters while maintaining attention to detail and meeting aggressive deadlines

• Strategic communication: You can translate complex legal concepts for non-legal audiences and influence stakeholders at all levels

• Continuous learning: You stay current with rapidly evolving regulations, case law, and industry best practices through self-directed learning

Location

Remote in the U.S. – Eastern, Central, and Pacific time zones. Candidates must have existing work authorization in the U.S.

Salary

We offer competitive salaries, variable with experience and a number of other factors.

Benefits

At Thesis, we work in a fun, fast-paced environment that operates by collaborating both remotely and in person when we can. We offer a competitive salary, full health benefits, opportunity for equity and a number of other perks.

Our Cultural Tenets

We Believe in Freedom and Autonomy
We Have Inquisitive Minds
We Are Obsessed with Communication
We Are Proudly Offbeat
We Care About Each Other
We Are Driven

Equal Opportunity Statement

Thesis is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability status.