COUNSEL, LABOR & EMPLOYMENTAbout the team and positionMost employment law jobs make you choose: be the counselor who advises on the hard decisions but hands off every dispute, or the litigator who defends decisions someone else made. Very few let you do both. At Carvana, our labor & employment team does it all and has fun doing it.
Carvana is a disruptive S&P 500 company that completely reinvented how cars are bought and sold-and behind that is a large, multi-state workforce that generates the full spectrum of labor and employment work. As Counsel on our Labor & Employment Team, you will own matters across that entire spectrum. You'll counsel HR and business leaders on their hardest people decisions, and then you'll stand behind that advice-responding to agency charges, defending litigation and arbitrations, and handling traditional labor matters as they arise. You advise, you defend, and you fold what you learn in the dispute back into the advice. That loop is the job, and almost nowhere else offers all of it in one seat.
We also think AI is a revolutionary opportunity for this profession, and we're acting like it. We're building a team of AI agents to take on the non-substantive, procedural work so our attorneys and paralegals can spend their time on judgment, strategy, and advocacy. You'll help us extend that build to the L&E practice. And the practice itself has scale you won't find many places: a large, fast-growing workforce spread across the country and across every kind of role-corporate headquarters, inspection centers, the delivery fleet. If the variety and pace of those employment questions energize you, you will thrive here.
This role is in-person, Monday-Friday at our corporate headquarters in Tempe, Arizona.What you'll be doing- Serve as the day-to-day legal partner to HR and business leaders on terminations, discipline, accommodations, leaves, internal investigations, reductions in force, and policy design-delivering timely, practical answers, not memos.
- Own agency matters end to end: EEOC and state-agency charges, DOL, OSHA, and other regulator inquiries-conducting investigations, preparing position statements, and attending mediations to ensure a proper resolution.
- Own a portfolio of employment litigation and arbitration matters-single-plaintiff lawsuits/arbitrations, wage-and-hour claims, and class and representative actions-from intake through final resolution, handling matters directly where it makes sense and managing top-tier outside counsel for the balance.
- Although Carvana is mainly an open-shop employer, you will occasionally work traditional labor matters-union representation petitions and related NLRB proceedings-alongside senior team members and outside counsel, and help leadership stay ahead of labor-relations risk.
- Monitor employment and labor law developments across a multi-state footprint; translate learnings into proactive policy updates and risk-mitigation recommendations for senior leadership.
- Help build the automation layer for the L&E practice-extending Carvana's AI agents that handle non-substantive, procedural work so the team's time goes to judgment, strategy, and advocacy.
- Contribute to a culture of continuous improvement by mentoring team members, sharing best practices, and championing innovative legal operations tools and approaches, all with a sense of humor and positive outlook.
What you should know- J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar.
- 5+ years of labor and employment experience, preferably in a law firm setting, spanning day-to-day counseling, agency practice, and employment litigation and arbitration. Traditional labor experience-union representation petitions, NLRB elections, and unfair labor practice charges-is a strong plus.
- Demonstrated ability to manage employment disputes through all phases, including negotiations, mediations, pleadings, discovery, motion practice, and hearing or trial preparation.
- Trusted-advisor communication skills: able to deliver clear, practical, decision-ready guidance to HR partners, operations leaders, and executives-and to build the relationships that get legal a seat at the table early.
- Exceptional judgment and business acumen, with the ability to quickly assess people-related business challenges, make timely, pragmatic recommendations under pressure, and identify, prioritize, and resolve issues quickly and collaboratively.
- Comfort with ambiguity and rapid change; a self-starter who is curious, tech-savvy, adaptable, and able to prioritize effectively and manage multiple tight deadlines in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
- Enthusiasm for leveraging technology and AI to drive efficiency and improve outcomes; practical familiarity with legal-tech tools is a plus.
What we'll offer in return- Full-time salaried position with a competitive salary and Carvana stock compensation.
- Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits.
- 401K with company match.
- A multitude of perks, including student loan payments, discounts on vehicles, benefits for your pets, and much more.
- A great wellness program to keep you healthy and happy both physically and mentally.
- Access to opportunities to expand your skill set and share your knowledge with others across the organization.
- A company culture focused on high performance and bar-raising, with vast opportunity to learn and grow.
- A better work-life balance compared to the demands of unreachable billable hours and an endless work schedule.
Other requirementsTo be able to do your job at Carvana, there are some basic requirements we want to share with you.
- Must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English.
