DescriptionAs
Corporate Counsel, Product, you will sit at the intersection of innovation and integrity, helping shape how we build and deliver the next generation of real estate technology. You will be a dedicated legal partner to our Product and Engineering teams, ensuring that legal guidance is embedded into the development lifecycle from concept to launch. Your goal is to enable business velocity by translating complex regulatory requirements into clear, actionable, and simple solutions.
This is an individual contributor role reporting to the Associate General Counsel, Product.
Your impact
- Product Development Lifecycle Partnership: Serve as a key legal advisor to Product and Engineering teams from initial ideation through to launch and beyond.
- Regulatory Navigation: Stay current with the evolving landscape of U.S. laws and regulations applicable to AppFolio's products and services. Research and translate complex laws and regulations into actionable product requirements, particularly for products in heavily regulated sectors (e.g., consumer protection, AI, tenant screening, etc.).
- Proactive Problem Solving: Identify potential legal and regulatory hurdles early and propose creative, practical solutions that maintain momentum and enable innovation.
- Scalable Frameworks: Develop and maintain internal playbooks, product-specific user terms, and automated processes that allow the Legal team to scale alongside our rapid product growth.
- Vendor & Partner Strategy: Collaborate with Procurement and Partnership teams to negotiate high-stakes agreements and integrations that power our products.
- Technical Integration: Maintain a comprehensive grasp of AppFolio's technical stack to provide nuanced advice on data flows and API integrations.
Qualifications
- Inquisitive Product Lawyer: You are a talented product lawyer with a familiarity with the product development lifecycle and an innate curiosity for how software is built. You are a self-starter who proactively digs into technical details and cross-functional context, ensuring your legal advice is grounded in a deep understanding of how the product actually functions.
- Thriving in Ambiguity: You excel in a role where there is no pre-defined roadmap. You are energized by issues of first instance and possess the drive to figure things out independently.
- Decision Maker: Proven ability to reach sound, practical, confident decisions and provide clear legal guidance, even when faced with incomplete information or tight deadlines.
- Effective Communicator: Ability to distill complex legal risks into clear, succinct analysis that resonates with product managers and engineers.
- Bias for Simplicity: An individual who demonstrates thought, discipline, and inclination toward simple versus complex solutions.
- Collaborative Spirit: A low-ego team player who thrives on building trust and working cross-functionally to achieve business outcomes.
Must have
- JD degree from an ABA-accredited law school and an active license in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.
- 5+ years of sophisticated legal experience, with a primary focus on product counseling within a U.S. technology or SaaS environment.
- Significant experience practicing in one or more heavily regulated U.S. industries (e.g., FinTech, tenant screening, B2C, etc.).
- A willingness to adjust your role to the shifting needs of the Legal team and the ability to quickly adapt to the evolving priorities of the organization.
Location: Santa Barbara (Hybrid)
This is a hybrid role based at our Santa Barbara headquarters.
Find out more about our locations by visiting our site.
All late-stage candidates complete an in-person meeting with an AppFolian as part of our hiring process.
Compensation & Benefits
The compensation that we reasonably expect to pay for this role is: $152,000 - $190,000[base pay]. The actual compensation for this role will be determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate's skills, education, experience, and internal equity.
Please note that compensation is just one aspect of a comprehensive Total Rewards package. The compensation range listed here does not include additional benefits or any discretionary bonuses you may be eligible for based on your role and/or employment type.
Regular full-time employees are eligible for benefits - see here.
