Senior Employment Counsel

Human Interest

13h•$200,000 - $240,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Human Interest is seeking a Senior Employment Counsel to join their Legal team. This is a senior, employment-focused role where the individual will serve as a strategic partner and trusted advisor to the People team on a wide range of employment matters. The role involves owning the company's employment disputes and employment risk end-to-end. The workforce is U.S.-based and spans most of the 50 states, making multistate employment compliance a core responsibility. The position also requires a willingness to learn and take on adjacent areas of law as the business needs them, such as privacy, non-employment litigation, and ERISA, in addition to the primary focus on employment law. This role reports directly to the Assistant General Counsel, Product & Regulatory, and offers an opportunity for growth within a scaling legal team.

Requirements

JD from an accredited law school; active bar admission in at least one U.S. jurisdiction required.
8 to 10+ years of legal experience, with deep, dedicated employment law experience across both counseling and disputes, including demonstrated counseling depth on non-exempt employee populations.
At least one prior in-house legal role is strongly preferred; startup or high-growth technology company experience is a strong plus.
Demonstrated experience managing employment litigation and pre-litigation matters, including directing outside counsel and driving strategy and resolution.
Demonstrated expertise in California employment law.
Experience with equity compensation (a meaningful part of our total rewards) and executive compensation.
Law firm background is preferred, with a demonstrated ability to translate analytical rigor into practical, business-ready guidance.
Comfort advising and building relationships with non-legal stakeholders, including the People team, senior executives, and business leaders across functions.
Ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities, and make sound judgment calls in an ambiguous, fast-paced environment.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
Genuine fluency with AI tools and daily use as a core part of how you research, draft, analyze, and think through legal problems.
Ability to build workflows and agents that multiply effectiveness and reduce manual, repetitive work.
Actively seek out new AI capabilities, evaluate them critically, and apply them thoughtfully to legal work.
Ability to articulate both the power and the limitations of AI in legal contexts, and help others on the team develop their own fluency over time.
Naturally curious — read widely, ask good questions, and are genuinely energized by learning things you don’t already know.
Foundation is U.S. employment law, and you know it well — but you don’t stop there. Demonstrated interest in and aptitude for adjacent areas of law, and comfortable engaging with unfamiliar legal questions rather than routing them elsewhere.
Team player — pitch in wherever needed, help teammates without being asked, and don’t let ‘that’s not my job’ be a reason not to help.
Deeply process- and documentation-oriented. Understand that high-quality legal work requires diligence, consistency, and rigor.
Take pride in work product, sweat the details that matter, and know how to distinguish signal from noise.

Nice To Haves

Startup or high-growth technology company experience
Law firm background
Experience with equity compensation
Experience with executive compensation

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary legal advisor to the People team across the full employment lifecycle: hiring, performance management, corrective actions, terminations, reductions in force, accommodations, leaves, compensation, contingent workers, and sensitive employee situations.
Own the company's employment disputes, managing pre-litigation claims, demand letters, administrative charges before the EEOC and state agencies, and settlement negotiations, and directing outside counsel on employment litigation.
Oversee and advise on internal employment investigations, including harassment, discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower, and policy-violation matters.
Provide proactive counsel on employment law compliance across a multistate workforce, with particular depth advising on non-exempt employee populations, staying ahead of developments in federal, state, and local law and taking the necessary steps to avoid issues before they arise.
Advise on employee and HR data privacy and information security, including how personnel data is collected, used, and protected under applicable federal and state law.
Draft, review, and negotiate employment-related documents including offer letters, employment agreements, separation and severance agreements, CIIAAs, and equity-related documents.
Translate new legal and regulatory developments and requirements into clear, practical guidance for the People team and business stakeholders.
Partner with the People team to develop and maintain employment policies, handbooks, and compliance procedures.
Develop and deliver training for the People team, people leaders, and business stakeholders on employment law topics and best practices, policy, and risk mitigation.
Dig into adjacent areas of law as the business needs them, learning quickly and taking ownership rather than routing questions elsewhere. Depending on your interests and the team's needs, this can span privacy and information security, non-employment litigation and disputes, regulatory investigations and examinations, ERISA and benefits, commercial contracting, and marketing and advertising review.
Support regulatory inquiries and examinations by government agencies, in coordination with outside counsel where appropriate.
Advise on privacy and information security matters beyond the employment context, including customer, product, and vendor data, under applicable federal and state law.
Support active litigation and disputes, including coordination with outside counsel, document collection and productions, and internal communications.
Review and advise on marketing and advertising materials for legal and regulatory compliance.
Draft and negotiate commercial agreements and provide general contract support across the business as needed.

Benefits

A great 401(k) plan with a dollar-for-dollar employer match up to 4% of compensation (immediately vested) and $0 plan fees
Top-of-the-line health plans, as well as dental and vision insurance
Competitive time off and parental leave
Unlimited access to digital tools, financial professionals, and a knowledge center to help you understand your equity and support your financial wellness
Lyra: Enhanced Mental Health Support for Employees and dependents
Carrot: Fertility healthcare and family forming benefits
Candidly: Student loan resource to help you and your family plan, borrow, and repay student debt
Monthly work-from-home stipend
Quarterly lifestyle stipend
Engaging team-building experiences, ranging from virtual social events to team offsites, promoting collaboration and camaraderie.