Managing Counsel, Commercial & Partnerships

The Zebra

6d•Remote

About The Position

The Zebra is seeking a Managing Counsel, Commercial & Partnerships to lead commercial contracting as the business grows. The role negotiates a broad range of commercial and technology agreements, advises on AI and data issues, and helps business teams understand legal risks and tradeoffs. It is a hands-on leadership position managing and developing the contracts team within a collaborative legal department. The position partners with Commercialization and Partnerships on carrier relationships and strategic partnerships, and advises teams across the company. It owns AI and data provisions in partner, customer, and vendor agreements; develops standard language and negotiation fallbacks; and negotiates data protection, processing, and security terms. The role also builds contracting processes and resources, oversees the team's use of AI and contract management technology, delivers company-wide training, and supports related disputes, litigation, and corporate projects as needed. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and supports remote work across the United States, with an optional office or hybrid arrangement for Austin-area employees. The Zebra is currently unable to hire in Massachusetts or California.

Requirements

10 or more years of commercial and technology transactions experience; a mix of top law firm and in-house experience is preferred in the posting's description of the ideal background.
Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited U.S. law school.
Active membership in good standing in at least one state bar.
Substantial experience drafting and negotiating complex technology agreements, such as SaaS, API, cloud, data licensing, and strategic partnership agreements, and completing high-value deals.
Demonstrated experience negotiating AI and data provisions, such as training rights, data use limits, and model and output ownership.
Working command of U.S. privacy and consumer protection law as it applies to commercial deals, including GLBA, CCPA/CPRA, and other state privacy laws.
Substantive intellectual property experience in a software, data, or brand context, including licensing and ownership structuring.
Experience managing, training, or mentoring contract managers, paralegals, or junior attorneys, and enthusiasm for helping others grow.
Strong sense of ownership, excellent communication and collaboration skills, and dedication to continuous improvement.

Nice To Haves

Experience in insurance, insurtech, or fintech.
Experience supporting AI-enabled products.
Familiarity with emerging AI governance frameworks and their application in a regulated industry.
Hands-on experience with legal AI tools, agentic workflows, and contract lifecycle management systems.
Experience building playbooks, templates, or contracting processes from scratch.

Responsibilities

Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial and technology agreements, including carrier contracts, strategic partnerships, SaaS, API and technology licenses, AI vendor and platform agreements, and data and vendor contracts.
Balance legal risk with business goals and help transactions progress.
Advise the Commercialization and Partnerships teams and other company teams on contracts and related business decisions.
Own AI and data provisions in partner, customer, and vendor agreements, including terms addressing training and improvement rights, data use, de-identification and aggregation, model and output ownership, accuracy commitments, and AI-specific risk allocation.
Draft and maintain standard AI and data contract language and negotiation fallbacks, clarifying what is standard, negotiable, or requires escalation.
Negotiate data protection terms, data processing agreements, and security exhibits, including GLBA, state privacy law, and consent provisions, with support from Senior Counsel, Privacy Regulatory & Product as needed.
Build and maintain contract playbooks, templates, fallback positions, approval thresholds, and clause libraries.
Improve contract intake, workflow, and turnaround in partnership with Legal Operations.
Calibrate and oversee team use of AI tools, agentic workflows, and contract management systems, with appropriate quality controls.
Create and deliver contracts training for the company.
Manage two contract managers in a player/coach model, serving as an escalation point and an accessible, hands-on resource aligned to business priorities.
Train, mentor, and coach the contracts team, including on AI, privacy, and intellectual property terms.
Monitor legal developments affecting AI, technology, data, privacy, and intellectual property, and translate them into contract language and practical guidance.
Support commercial disputes, litigation, corporate projects, and other matters as needed.