Vice President Of Legal

Electric Power Engineers • Austin, TX

8d • Hybrid

About The Position

EPE is seeking a solutions-oriented, strategic legal executive to serve as Vice President of Legal. This is a senior leadership role with broad corporate scope, responsible for building and leading EPE's legal function as the company scales — spanning commercial contracting, intellectual property protection, software and product counseling, corporate governance, employment law, regulatory compliance, M&A, data privacy, cybersecurity, ethics and investigations, and enterprise risk management. Reporting to the Chief Growth Officer, the VP of Legal will serve as a trusted business partner and primary legal advisor across all lines of business, driving a culture of compliance, sound judgment, operational rigor, and proactive risk mitigation while enabling growth. This position is based at EPE's corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas , with a hybrid in-office expectation.

Requirements

• J.D. from an accredited law school; active admission to at least one state bar (Texas preferred or willingness to obtain)
• Minimum of 10–15 years of legal practice, with significant in-house experience or a combination of law firm and in-house roles, including substantial responsibility for leading complex commercial and corporate matters
• Experience advising and supporting a global company, including cross-border regulatory requirements, international entity structuring, multi-jurisdictional employment and labor law compliance, and country-specific contracting obligations
• Demonstrated breadth across commercial contracting, corporate law, employment, compliance, data privacy, and dispute management
• Strong experience in professional services, consulting, software, SaaS, technology-enabled services, or engineering industry contracting
• Experience with intellectual property strategy, software licensing, data rights, and open-source or product counseling issues
• Working knowledge of data privacy and cybersecurity legal frameworks and experience negotiating related contract provisions and supporting incident response
• Proven experience supporting or leading M&A diligence, transaction execution, and post-close integration legal workstreams
• Experience building scalable legal processes, template systems, approval workflows, and legal operations capabilities, including CLM or similar tools
• Strong judgment in balancing legal risk with commercial objectives in a fast-paced, high-growth environment
• Strong executive presence with the ability to influence and advise at the C-suite and Board level

Nice To Haves

• The ideal candidate is a collaborative, and commercially minded legal leader who thrives at the intersection of law, technology, and business.
• You are as comfortable advising on a complex acquisition, software commercialization issue, or sensitive employment matter as you are rolling up your sleeves to redline a client agreement or build a scalable contracting workflow.
• You build trust quickly, communicate with clarity, and bring a practical, solutions-oriented mindset to every challenge.
• You understand that the legal function exists to enable the business while protecting its long-term enterprise value — and you lead accordingly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the drafting, review, and negotiation of key commercial agreements, including client, partner, subcontractor, software, and vendor contracts
• Build and improve practical contract templates, clause libraries, playbooks, and approval workflows that support speed, consistency, and sound risk management
• Work closely with Sales, Business Development, Proposals, Delivery, and Finance to support deals from pursuit through execution
• Create clear contracting guardrails and escalation paths that protect the business while enabling efficient decision-making and growth
• Lead EPE’s intellectual property strategy, including protecting and managing proprietary tools, software, data, methodologies, and brand assets
• Draft and negotiate agreements related to software, licensing, data rights, and intellectual property ownership across commercial and workforce arrangements
• Partner with engineering and technology teams to support the development, protection, and commercialization of software, platforms, analytics, and other innovations
• Establish practical governance for software, product, and data commercialization, including customer use rights, licensing models, and third-party technology considerations
• Oversee IP-related contract protections and coordinate trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters with outside counsel as needed
• Develop, implement, and maintain legal policies, procedures, risk assessments, code of conduct standards, and compliance frameworks across the organization
• Advise executive leadership and the Board on corporate governance matters, entity structure, delegated authorities, and fiduciary obligations; support board and committee materials, resolutions, and corporate records as needed
• Oversee domestic and international entity management, including formation, maintenance, registrations, and coordination of annual filings and other corporate formalities
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations, including those governing the energy, software, and engineering consulting sectors
• Oversee and advise on compliance programs in areas such as anti-corruption, conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, trade controls, sanctions, and records management
• Review, draft, and negotiate Data Protection Agreements, cybersecurity provisions, AI and data-use terms, and privacy-related contract language
• Advise on compliance with applicable data privacy frameworks (e.g., CCPA, GDPR, HIPAA where applicable) and evolving cybersecurity standards, including cross-border data transfer considerations
• Partner with IT, Security, and Operations to assess and mitigate data-related legal risk, including vendor risk, security questionnaires, and customer audit requests
• Support incident response, breach assessment, notification decision-making, and related remediation in coordination with internal stakeholders and outside experts as needed
• Advise HR and People leaders on key employment matters, including hiring, executive agreements, employee relations, investigations, disciplinary actions, and terminations
• Support workforce-related legal issues, including incentive plans, worker classification, and confidentiality or restrictive covenant matters
• Guide global workforce expansion efforts, including international contractor arrangements, mobility matters, and cross-border employment compliance
• Partner on employee policies, handbooks, training, and workplace conduct initiatives to help build a compliant and scalable people infrastructure
• Serve as a key legal resource in M&A transactions, including diligence, deal structuring, negotiation, closing, and post-close integration planning
• Build repeatable diligence, risk issue-spotting, and integration playbooks to support a disciplined, scalable corporate development engine
• Manage disputes, claims, and pre-litigation matters with a practical, business-focused approach that prioritizes early risk assessment and efficient resolution
• Partner with Finance and Operations on insurance, claims, certificates, and other risk-transfer matters tied to client, vendor, and project obligations
• Engage and oversee outside counsel and specialized advisors to deliver cost-effective support aligned with company priorities
• Build and lead a high-performing legal function, using the right mix of internal talent, outside counsel, and legal technology as the team grows
• Establish scalable legal operations, including matter intake, prioritization, knowledge management, budgeting, KPIs, and service
• Partner with Learning and Development to create practical training and guidance that equips business teams to navigate contracting, compliance, ethics, and data-related matters with clarity and confidence

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits including medical, dental, and vision with 100% premium coverage for you
• Generous PTO and paid holidays
• MyShare Employee Ownership Program
• Work with industry leaders
• 401K, up to a 4% match (100% vested from day 1)

What This Job Offers

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