Sr. Lead Counsel, Labor & Employment

Pinterest • San Francisco, CA

17h • Remote

About The Position

Pinterest’s Employment Law Team provides strategic, practical counsel to the People Team and business leaders on workforce decisions across the employee lifecycle. The Sr. Lead Counsel will serve as a trusted legal partner across Pinterest, advising on matters ranging from recruiting and organizational change to employee relations, compensation, benefits, and contingent workforces. The role supports business objectives, manages legal and reputational risk, supports Pinterest’s values and culture, and helps build scalable policies and processes for a global workforce.

The role requires senior-level counsel on complex employment matters, leadership of cross-functional initiatives, management of significant disputes and regulatory matters, and responsible use of AI to improve legal work and service delivery. The position can be located anywhere in the country and requires in-office collaboration approximately one to three times per year.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) and active bar admission.
• At least 10 years of experience handling complex employment matters in a law firm or in-house environment.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. employment law and experience advising senior business and People leaders on high-impact, complex matters.
• Exceptional judgment and decision-making, including assessing ambiguity, balancing competing considerations, and making timely recommendations.
• Excellent communication and executive-influence skills, including explaining complex legal issues clearly and building trusted partnerships.
• Proven ability to independently lead complex cross-functional initiatives and drive stakeholder alignment and accountability.
• Strong experience negotiating and managing employment litigation, agency investigations, regulatory matters, and outside counsel relationships.
• Ability to evaluate and responsibly apply AI tools to legal work and improve efficiency.
• Integrity, discretion, resilience, and commitment to an inclusive environment.

Nice To Haves

• California or New York bar admission.
• In-house experience in a fast-paced organization.

Responsibilities

• Advise executives, People Team leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders on complex employment matters, including workforce strategy, organizational change, global mobility, employee relations, accommodations, leaves, classification, and contingent workforces.
• Assess complex and ambiguous legal and business risks and provide practical recommendations aligned with Pinterest’s objectives.
• Lead development and implementation of employment-related agreements, policies, guidelines, legal documents, and operating practices.
• Develop and lead cross-functional employment-law initiatives, including compliance programs, policy rollouts, process improvements, training, and strategic People Team priorities.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to identify emerging risks, set priorities, secure resources, and drive alignment and accountability across workstreams.
• Manage employment disputes, litigation, agency investigations, and regulatory matters, developing resolution strategies that balance legal, business, employee-experience, and reputational considerations.
• Manage outside counsel relationships, budgets, and legal work to budget, maintaining quality, efficiency, and strategic oversight.
• Monitor employment-law developments and translate them into actionable guidance, policies, training, and scalable business practices.
• Identify responsible opportunities to use AI in legal research, risk spotting, workflow efficiency, knowledge management, and service delivery, with attention to confidentiality, accuracy, bias, transparency, and human oversight.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree