About the Role:

Motive is seeking a Senior Counsel, Employment to provide practical, strategic legal guidance across the employee lifecycle for a distributed, multi-jurisdictional workforce. Reporting to the AGC, Corporate, this role will advise People, managers, business leaders, and executives on employment matters, manage legal risk, and help build scalable employment policies and processes in a fast-growing technology company.

The ideal candidate brings sound judgment, strong employment-law expertise, and the ability to translate complex legal requirements into clear, actionable guidance. This role will shape employment practices, support business growth, and contribute to broader Legal team initiatives.

What You'll Do:

• Advise People, managers, business leaders, and executives on a broad range of employment matters, including hiring, performance management, employee relations, accommodations, leaves, investigations, discipline, compensation, classification, restrictive covenants, and separations.
• Provide guidance on federal, state, provincial, local, international and other applicable employment laws and regulations.
• Draft, review, and update employment-related agreements, policies, procedures, training materials, and communications, with a comprehensive annual review and update cycle.
• Partner with People, Recruiting, and business stakeholders to develop practical, consistent, and legally compliant approaches to workforce and employee-relations matters.
• Manage and oversee employment-related claims, agency charges, audits, investigations, and litigation in partnership with internal and external counsel.
• Monitor legal and regulatory developments and recommend updates to policies, processes, training, and business practices.
• Support workforce programs, organizational changes, and other cross-functional legal projects and strategic business priorities.
• Manage outside counsel effectively and help ensure matters are handled efficiently and with appropriate risk calibration.

What We're Looking For:

• J.D. and active license to practice law in at least one U.S. state.
• 10+ years of relevant employment-law experience in a law firm and in-house legal department.
• Deep knowledge of employment law and demonstrated experience advising on employee relations, contingent workers, restrictive covenants, workplace investigations, wage and hour matters, leaves, accommodations, and employment-related disputes.
• Experience supporting a distributed or multi-jurisdictional workforce across multiple U.S. states as well as international jurisdictions, preferably in a technology or high-growth company.
• Strong business judgment and the ability to provide clear, practical, and risk-calibrated advice.
• Brings strong technical drafting skills for preparing employment-related agreements.
• Experience advising on equity incentive plans and equity matters across a distributed workforce.
• Ability to manage complex matters independently while collaborating effectively with cross-functional stakeholders and external counsel.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, close attention to detail, and the ability to prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
• A self-motivated individual with a solutions-oriented, low-ego approach and willingness to contribute beyond a narrowly defined specialty.
• AI-first perspective, with interest in building and leveraging AI-driven tools.
• Someone with a great sense of humor and no ego who shares our vision that the legal team can be both a center of excellence and fun at the same time!

Pay Transparency
Your compensation may be based on several factors, including education, work experience, and certifications. For certain roles, total compensation may include restricted stock units. Motive offers benefits including health, pharmacy, optical and dental care benefits, paid time off, sick time off, short term and long term disability coverage, life insurance as well as 401k contribution (all benefits are subject to eligibility requirements). Learn more about our benefits by visiting Motive Perks & Benefits.

The compensation range for this position will depend on where you reside. Motive uses three geographic zones to determine pay range. For this role, the compensation ranges are:

San Francisco, California

$175,000-$241,000 USD

U.S. metropolitan areas: Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City Area, Seattle, Washington D.C.

$153,000-$210,000 USD

Other locations in the United States

$153,000-$210,000 USD

All job postings are for existing vacancies. Please note; some interviews or new-hire training sessions may be held in person at one of our global offices.