Role Description:As In-house Associate Legal Counsel, you will serve as a legal advisor for myKaarma's commercial operations, corporate strategy, and regulatory compliance. This is a high-impact, high-autonomy role covering the full breadth of legal work at a fast-growing automotive SaaS company: OEM partnership agreements and multi-party contract negotiations, data privacy and communications compliance, IP and patent management, antitrust analysis, employment law, and dispute resolution.
You will report to the SVP of Finance, with direct access to the CEO and executive team, and work closely with Sales, Product, Finance, and Engineering. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who drives projects forward on their own, communicates in plain business language rather than legalese, and understands that legal's job is to enable deals, not just prevent risk. You should be equally comfortable negotiating a complex OEM master license agreement, coordinating with outside antitrust counsel, drafting a patent disclosure, and advising HR on a no-hire compliance question, all in the same week.
This is not a "wait for instructions" role. We need someone who proactively identifies legal issues before they become problems, presents consolidated decision packages (not fragmented emails), and builds systems that make the whole company more efficient.
Key Responsibilities:Commercial Contracts & Negotiation- Draft and negotiate SaaS agreements, MSAs, NDAs, DPAs, SOWs, and OEM, partner, and vendor agreements.
- Own the contract lifecycle, redline to signature to filing, in Ironclad and DocuSign.
- Close OEM and dealer group deals fast without giving away the store.
- Build templates, clause libraries, and pre-approved positions that shrink deal cycles.
- Give leadership clear, fast calls on contract risk.
Data Privacy & Regulatory Compliance- Keep voice, text, and email compliant with TCPA, DNC, CAN-SPAM, and state law.
- Own privacy compliance: CCPA, GDPR, state laws, retention, consent, and cross-border transfers.
- Build privacy into the product with Product and Engineering, before launch, not after.
- Negotiate DPAs with OEMs, dealer groups, and vendors, including AI disclosures.
- Set controller/processor roles and DPO designations in OEM agreements.
IP & Patent Management- Run the patent portfolio with outside patent counsel and international agents.
- Turn engineering know-how into filed patent disclosures.
- Never miss a maintenance fee or filing deadline.
- Protect trademarks, copyrights, proprietary tools, and co-developed partner solutions.
Outside Counsel Management- Direct outside counsel across antitrust, patents, litigation, and M&A.
- Structure engagements to protect privilege.
- Brief counsel with tight fact summaries and gather the internal facts they need.
Litigation & Dispute Resolution- Run pre-litigation: demand letters, recovery assessments, and strategy.
- Lead fact-finding and evidence gathering for partner and vendor disputes.
- Decide when to negotiate, when to demand, and when to escalate.
Employment Law & HR Advisory- Advise HR on no-hire, non-solicit, and candidate rejection protocols.
- Operationalize multi-state employment requirements, California first.
- Keep recruiting compliant with customer hiring restrictions.
Antitrust & Competition Law- Support antitrust analysis with outside counsel on data access and platform interoperability.
- Write the fact summaries and memos counsel needs.
- Keep partner communications and API policies competition-law defensible.
Legal Operations & Infrastructure- Build the legal operating system: playbooks, templates, CLM, and compliance tracking, including non-standard terms.
- Write policies and run training on communications, privacy, IP, and risk.
- Keep a clean, version-controlled legal repository in Google Drive.
- Make sure no time-sensitive legal notice ever sits unopened.
Key Opportunities- Build Legal Infrastructure for Scale: Create playbooks, templates, and contract systems to support rapid growth with discipline. Establish the legal operating system that will carry myKaarma through its next phase.
- OEM Partnership Velocity: Streamline contracting for large dealer groups, OEMs, and third-party partners without compromising legal quality, while presenting consolidated decision packages to leadership.
- Deal Closure Acceleration: Support redlining, approvals, and negotiation to compress deal cycles and protect business outcomes.
- Communications Compliance Leadership: Ensure regulatory compliance across TCPA, Do-Not-Call, CAN-SPAM, and state-level communication laws across voice, text, and email.
- Cross-Functional Influence: Be the go-to advisor for legal and regulatory matters across product, sales, marketing, and customer operations, translating legal concepts into plain business language people can act on.
- IP Portfolio Development: Drive patent projects forward with momentum, coordinating inventors and outside counsel to move from disclosure to filing efficiently.
- Risk Mitigation: Proactively identify and address emerging risks in contracts, customer communications, and product releases before they need executive escalation.
Required Skills and Qualifications:
- JD from an accredited law school; licensed to practice in a U.S. jurisdiction (California preferred).
- 5+ years of experience, with at least 1-2 years in-house at a technology/SaaS company.
- Proven ability to independently manage the full contract lifecycle, from drafting through negotiation and execution, including with enterprise customers and large OEMs.
- Direct experience with data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, state privacy laws) and communications regulations (TCPA, CAN-SPAM, DNC).
- Experience coordinating with and managing outside counsel across multiple practice areas.
- Comfort with CLM tools (Ironclad) and electronic contracting platforms.
- Fluency with Google Workspace as the primary collaboration environment.
- Excellent judgment in balancing legal risk with business needs; knows when a simple business email beats a legal memo.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to explain legal issues clearly to non-legal stakeholders.
Nice to Have Skills & Qualifications - Antitrust/competition law experience, in-house or at a firm.
- IP/patent portfolio management, including USPTO processes and coordination with patent agents.
- Employment law background, including non-solicitation agreements and multi-state hiring compliance.
- Litigation management or dispute resolution (demand letters, pre-litigation strategy, evidence coordination).
- Automotive or franchised dealer experience, particularly with DMS providers, OEM programs, or dealership technology vendors.
- Experience as sole or primary counsel at a fast-growing company, handling a high-volume, multi-stakeholder workload.
We know great candidates don't always match every requirement. If this role excites you and your experience aligns with many of the qualifications, we'd encourage you to apply. Skills can be learned-we also value curiosity, ownership, and a willingness to grow.
A Week in the Role- Monday: A dealer group wants special terms outside our standard procedures. You redline, set up compliance tracking in Ironclad, and send leadership a one-page Summary / Ask / Detail memo with your call.
- Tuesday: An OEM's DPA adds new AI disclosure demands. You propose workable language and get the deal moving.
- Wednesday: A new texting workflow ships Friday. You clear the consent flow against TCPA and state rules first.
- Thursday: You turn an engineer's whiteboard sketch into a patent disclosure and brief outside counsel.
- Friday: HR asks if a dealership candidate is covered by a no-hire clause. Two-line answer, no memo.
Total Rewards at myKaarmaAt myKaarma, we offer a comprehensive Total Rewards package that extends beyond the base salary. Our commitment to competitive compensation includes bonuses and benefits that support both personal and professional well-being:
- Flexible Work Environment: We embrace a high-performance, flexible structure that values freedom and responsibility. Our "Highly Aligned, Loosely Coupled" model empowers teams to innovate and continuously improve using data-driven insights.
- Health and Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits, along with wellness and telework stipends.
- Time Off: Generous vacation time to recharge and balance life outside work.
- In-Office Perks: Enjoy dog-friendly offices and unlimited snacks or refreshments onsite.
The starting salary range for this role is $150,000 to $175,000, depending on experience and qualifications, reflecting our dedication to competitive industry compensation. Additional details about our Total Rewards package will be shared during recruitment.
The pay range for this role is:
150,000 - 175,000 USD per year (Long Beach Office)
