General Counsel

Sezzle•Minneapolis, MN

4d•Remote

About The Position

We are seeking a best in class tech-driven General Counsel. This role presents an exciting opportunity to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment within a rapidly growing team. The General Counsel serves as Sezzle’s most senior legal and compliance executive, providing strategic legal leadership across all business lines while directly overseeing the Compliance department. This is not a traditional legal role. We are a technology company first, and our GC must lead with that same orientation, embracing AI-powered legal operations, accelerating the team’s use of emerging tools, and acting as a force multiplier for Sezzle’s speed of innovation. The GC will own the full legal and compliance mandate including consumer lending regulation, state and federal licensing, ILC bank charter regulatory strategy, corporate governance, product counsel, and enterprise risk. This role is critical to Sezzle’s next chapter. As we pursue a Utah Industrial Loan Company (ILC) bank charter and build out a full-service consumer financial platform, the GC will be at the center of some of the most consequential legal and regulatory decisions in the company’s history.

Requirements

Demonstrated track record of leading AI implementation within a legal or compliance function, not as an observer but as an owner and driver of adoption.
Experience building or leading compliance operations at a high-growth fintech, digital lender, or regulated technology company.
Regulatory experience navigating CFPB, FTC, state banking regulators, and/or FDIC examinations.
Exceptional ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into clear, actionable business guidance without slowing execution.
Strong team-building instincts, this person leads a department and sets the culture for how legal and compliance operates at Sezzle.
Strategic thinker with operational discipline, can set direction and execute.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable presenting to the Board and external regulators.
Deep expertise in U.S. consumer lending regulation with direct BNPL, pay-in-four, short-term lending, earned wage access, or adjacent consumer finance experience is preferred.

Nice To Haves

J.D. from a top-ranked U.S. law school; law review or equivalent academic distinction preferred.
8–15 years of relevant legal experience; a mix of elite law firm and in-house is the ideal trajectory.
Direct experience with ILC charter applications or de novo bank formation is a significant differentiator.
Prior experience in BNPL, payday lending, consumer installment lending, personal loans, or near-Sezzle consumer finance verticals strongly preferred.
Background or active interest in financial technology product development, candidates who have coded, prototyped, or built internal legal-tech tools are of particular interest.
Public company experience (SEC reporting, Regulation FD, proxy statements) is a plus; Sezzle is publicly traded on Nasdaq.
Familiarity with Canadian consumer protection law is an asset.

Responsibilities

Lead Sezzle’s legal function as a technology-first operator, not a traditional counsel. You will be expected to actively implement and champion AI tools across the legal and compliance team, from contract review and regulatory research to compliance monitoring and risk analysis, setting the standard for how a modern in-house legal department operates. This is not aspirational; it is a baseline expectation from day one.
Serve as the company’s primary legal advisor to the CEO, executive team, and Board on all legal, regulatory, and strategic matters.
Lead, manage, and build Sezzle’s in-house legal team, setting a high-performance culture consistent with Sezzle’s Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence values.
Oversee all corporate governance matters including Board minutes, charter documents, equity management, securities compliance, and public company obligations.
Manage litigation, outside counsel relationships, and legal spend with a results-driven, efficiency-first orientation.
Provide real-time legal guidance on product development, marketing, technology partnerships, and business strategy.
Lead or support M&A, debt facility, and strategic transaction work as Sezzle’s business evolves.
Directly lead and own Sezzle’s Compliance department, overseeing the team, program structure, and regulatory posture across the U.S. and Canada.
Own all consumer lending regulatory compliance including TILA/Reg Z, ECOA, FCRA, UDAAP, GLBA, CCPA/GDPR, and state-level consumer protection laws.
Lead state licensing strategy including money transmission, consumer finance, and lending licenses across all active jurisdictions.
Act as primary point of contact for CFPB, FTC, state banking regulators, and other relevant regulatory bodies.
Own Sezzle’s ILC bank charter regulatory strategy in partnership with the CEO and executive team, guiding application, charter management, ongoing regulatory relationships, and bank-level compliance build-out.
Develop and maintain enterprise-wide compliance programs, policies, and training frameworks.
Lead regulatory examination and audit preparation, response, and resolution.
Champion the adoption and implementation of AI tools within the Legal and Compliance departments, drafting, research, contract review, regulatory monitoring, and compliance automation.
Actively partner with Engineering and Product on AI-powered product initiatives, ensuring legal and compliance are accelerators rather than gatekeepers.
Set and model a culture where legal team members are expected to leverage AI in their daily practice.
Advise on legal risk associated with Sezzle’s proprietary AI development, including the AI shopping assistant, algorithmic credit decisioning, and data strategy.