Legal Program Manager, Contracts and Governance

Anthropic•Seattle, WA

5d•$220,000 - $285,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Anthropic is seeking an experienced Legal Program Manager to join our Commercial Legal team, focused on contracts and governance. This role is central to Anthropic’s compliance efforts on the commercial side: you will embed deeply in our sell-side contracting processes, partner across functions, and help build the controls, workflows, and governance infrastructure that revenue-generating activities require as the company matures. You will sit at the intersection of Legal, Finance, Revenue Operations, Sales, Partnerships, Engineering, and Accounting — ensuring that commercial contracting practices meet our governance and compliance standards, with particular emphasis on revenue recognition workstreams. This is a high-visibility role where you will be expected to operate as a player-coach: managing and improving contracting processes yourself while building scalable systems, templates, and playbooks as the function grows.

Requirements

At least 8–10 years of experience in legal program management, legal operations, contracts management, or commercial legal support, preferably in a technology or SaaS environment
Deep, practical knowledge of sell-side commercial contracting processes, including SaaS, subscription, and enterprise licensing agreements
Strong ability to read, interpret, and analyze commercial contracts, with a thorough understanding of legal requirements, key contractual provisions, risk allocation, and compliance obligations (past experience negotiating and drafting contracts is a significant plus)
Working familiarity with revenue recognition principles (ASC 606) and how contract terms and deal structures impact revenue treatment
Experience building or significantly improving contracting workflows, templates, approval processes, or contract lifecycle management systems
Demonstrated ability to partner cross-functionally with Sales, Finance, Accounting, Engineering, and other business teams to align contracting practices with corporate requirements
Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams, drive accountability, and deliver results in a fast-paced, scaling environment
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal and financial concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non-legal stakeholders
Sound judgment and the ability to identify and escalate contract risks, governance gaps, and compliance issues proactively
Comfort using AI and LLM tools to streamline and scale routine contracting work

Nice To Haves

Prior experience working in a public company environment, with firsthand knowledge of the governance, compliance, and reporting cadences that public company operations require
Experience at a high-growth technology company that has undergone (or is preparing for) a company transition
Deep cross-functional experience partnering with Accounting, Engineering, and other technical and operational teams — not just Sales and Finance — to drive contracting and governance initiatives
Familiarity with SOX compliance requirements, particularly internal controls over financial reporting as they relate to the revenue cycle and commercial contracting
Hands-on experience with Ironclad as a contract lifecycle management platform; experience with other CLM tools (Icertis, DocuSign CLM, Salesforce, or similar) also valued
Experience with vendor and supplier contracting processes, bringing a well-rounded understanding of both sides of the commercial contracting lifecycle
Background in building delegation of authority frameworks or contract governance programs from the ground up
Professional certifications such as PMP or CPCM (Certified Professional Contracts Manager)
Experience managing or administering equity-related commercial agreements, strategic partnerships, or complex multi-party commercial arrangements
Interest in AI policy, AI safety, and the legal and governance questions emerging at the frontier of the field

Responsibilities

Partner with Commercial Legal to continuously improve the end-to-end commercial contracting lifecycle for sell-side agreements (SaaS/API subscriptions, enterprise licenses, partnership and channel agreements, statements of work, and order forms), ensuring alignment with revenue recognition requirements under ASC 606
Partner with Finance and Accounting to ensure commercial contract terms and structures support accurate revenue recognition, including proper identification of performance obligations, variable consideration, contract modifications, and multi-element arrangements
Develop and maintain contract management workflows, templates, approval matrices, and playbooks that embed governance and compliance requirements directly into the contracting process
Build and operate contract governance controls tied to compliance requirements, including contract review procedures, delegation of authority frameworks, and exception-tracking mechanisms
Maintain disclosure-support processes for commercial contracts, including tracking of material agreements, contract-related risks, and commitments that feed SEC reporting and audit requirements
Partner with Revenue Operations, Sales, and Engineering to design and enforce contract execution standards — including signature authority, amendment protocols, and proper documentation practices — that support SOX compliance and internal controls over financial reporting
Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders (Sales, Partnerships, Finance, FP&A, Accounting, Engineering, and external auditors) to ensure commercial commitments are properly captured, classified, and reported
Deploy LLM and AI tooling to scale contracting throughput, surface governance exceptions, and reduce manual handling