Corporate Counsel

Ginkgo Bioworks•Boston, MA

39d•Onsite

About The Position

As a member of our Corporate Legal Team, you will be focused on providing creative solutions to help drive these groundbreaking endeavors at Ginkgo. Candidates should have enthusiasm for exploring with internal clients business-oriented solutions to problems, in a manner that incorporates sound legal advice. In particular, you’ll support the growth of our business by overseeing business development transactions, supporting and advising our operations, leading and negotiating agreements, engaging with existing collaborators, architecting the legal framework for new offerings and more. With your in-depth legal experience in supporting business development, logistics, and customer relationships in the life sciences and biotechnology space, your role will be critical to Ginkgo’s success.

Requirements

BA/BS degree
JD and licensed to practice law in the United States
3+ years’ experience practicing law in a law firm and/or a corporation
Grounded expertise with a minimum of 3 years working as a lawyer in a legal environment, with a JD required; years of experience in a high-pressure law firm setting will be considered when determining minimum experience.
In-depth experience with complex transactions, including software and technology agreements, licenses, material transfers, and collaborations, as well as general corporate transactions such as stock purchase agreements, investor agreements, and services agreements.
Nimble and adaptable work style, with the ability to discern between low-impact and high-impact efforts and make wise decisions about time management in a dynamic environment.
Keen project leadership, with ample experience managing programs with company-wide impact that require significant indirect and cross-functional influence, while directing resources efficiently with cost control in mind.
Good judgment and a reputation for making balanced decisions that weigh risk against business opportunity, paired with a history of honest, direct, and timely communication of issues as they arise.
Ownership mentality with a can-do attitude and humble approach to work allocation—independently identifying matters that need attention, maintaining diligent knowledge management, and ensuring strong communication and collaboration with internal and external counterparts.
Dedication to making biology easier to engineer.

Nice To Haves

Law firm and in-house experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead and negotiate a wide range of agreements with customers, vendors, industry partners, and suppliers—including hardware purchasing agreements, collaboration and licensing agreements, software and SaaS agreements, master service agreements, material transfer agreements, and procurement contracts.
Engage cross-functionally with business development, commercial operations, finance, human resources, and technical program teams to provide balanced legal advice that manages risk while enabling business opportunity in a compliant manner.
Transact across our several business units by reviewing term sheets, conducting diligence activities, and drafting and negotiating transaction documents from start to finish.
Strengthen Ginkgo's legal infrastructure by growing our internal repository of agreement templates, models, guidances, and professional development materials.
Guide commercial operations and alliance management to establish and maintain strong partnerships with existing customers, collaborators, and strategic counterparts.
Review technical and logistical materials to support our business development and program teams, ensuring compliance across associated transactions and new offerings.
Optimize the responsible use of generative AI and other legal technology tools to accelerate and systematize workflows, while managing multiple deals and matters simultaneously in a fast-paced, constantly evolving environment.
Work collaboratively across Ginkgo’s commercial, technical, and legal teams to support our lab automation focus—speaking clearly and directly with multiple stakeholders to create consensus and assign ownership for complex initiatives.