ABB Ltd

Senior Legal Counsel - Americas

ABB Ltd • $163K — $261K *
Cary, NC 27513In-Person
Legal & Accounting
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Juris Doctor (JD) with active bar admission in at least one relevant jurisdiction.
  • Minimum 10 years of in-house or law firm experience with industrial, engineering, technology, construction, or services businesses.
  • Strong ability to collaborate in a team while managing autonomy and competing priorities.
  • Demonstrated strong commercial judgment in handling contracts, disputes, and strategic transactions.
  • Familiarity with AI tools for legal applications preferred.

Responsibilities

  • Advise business leaders on legal risk and strategic execution across the Americas.
  • Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements, creating efficient contract management processes.
  • Provide counsel on tenders, contract risk, claims, and project execution in service-intensive markets.
  • Manage disputes, litigation, and external counsel to ensure effective matter strategy and budget management.
  • Counsel on employment and HR issues, coordinating with specialists on complex matters.
  • Support global mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring, including diligence and integration post-closing.
  • Coordinate coverage with other ABB divisions and legal teams to optimize resource allocation.

Benefits

  • Two medical plan options and two dental plan options to choose from.
  • Company-paid life insurance and disability coverage (short and long term).
  • Paid parental leave and employee assistance programs for mental health and wellness.
  • 401k Savings Plan with company contributions and an Employee Stock Acquisition Plan.
  • 11 paid holidays and a permissive vacation time away policy.
Full Job Description
This position reports to:
Division General Counsel ELSE

In this role, you'll help run what runs the world, by taking on meaningful work that drives real impact.

As Senior Legal Counsel, Americas for ABB Electrification Service (ELSE), you will do more than manage legal risk. You will anticipate business needs, identify emerging issues, and serve as a trusted business partner to senior leaders and cross-functional teams. Working in ABB's highly collaborative regional and global Legal & Integrity environment, you will advise on complex commercial contracts, compliance and integrity, disputes, employment matters, and strategic transactions, translating legal risk into clear options and practical solutions that support sustainable growth across jurisdictions. ELSE will be the role's primary divisional responsibility, but the role may also support other ABB divisions as business needs require. The role is not the sole legal resource for ELSE or other supported divisions; effective coordination, allocation of work, and shared matter ownership with other ABB lawyers are essential.

The work model for the role is: remote (#Li-Remote), however the operating time zone will align closest with Eastern Time zone.

Your role and responsibilities:

  • Advise business leaders across the Americas on legal risk, decision-making, and execution of strategic priorities, in coordination with relevant country, business area, and specialist counsel.
  • Lead or support, as agreed within the regional legal team, the drafting, review, and negotiation of complex customer, supplier, service, subcontractor, channel partner, technology, and other commercial agreements across the Americas. Design scalable contract management processes, including playbooks, templates, and workflows, to improve efficiency and manage legal risk across high-volume transactions.
  • Advise on tenders, contract risk reviews, claims, change orders, project execution, and dispute avoidance across service-intensive markets, including industrial services, utilities, data centers, infrastructure, and renewables.
  • Manage litigation, arbitration, pre-litigation claims, settlements, and external counsel, including matter strategy, budgets, reporting, and quality assurance.
  • Advise on employment and human resources matters, including performance management, investigations, terminations, reorganizations, immigration, and cross-border workforce issues, coordinating with specialists where appropriate.
  • Provide strategic legal counsel on mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, divestitures, joint ventures, and restructuring activities globally, including deal structuring, due diligence, and post-closing integration support.
  • Support other ABB divisions, business areas, and corporate functions as business needs require, with priorities and matter ownership coordinated through the relevant Legal & Integrity leadership and existing coverage teams.
  • Collaborate actively with ABB lawyers across divisions, countries, specialist teams, and regions under agreed coverage models, matter-allocation principles, and escalation paths. Existing counsel remain accountable for matters within their assigned businesses, countries, or specialist areas unless responsibility is expressly reassigned; this role strengthens shared legal capacity and is not the default recipient for all ELSE or other divisional legal work.


Our Team Dynamics

Our teams support each other, collaborate, and never stop learning. Everyone brings something unique, and together we push ideas forward to solve real problems. Being part of our team means your work matters - because the progress we make here creates real impact out there.

Qualifications for the role:

Required Experience
  • Juris Doctor (JD) with active bar admission in at least one relevant jurisdiction
  • Minimum 10 years of in-house or law firm experience supporting industrial, engineering, technology, construction, or services businesses across multiple legal disciplines and jurisdictions in a multinational company.
  • Ability to succeed in a highly collaborative environment while operating with appropriate autonomy; partner effectively with divisional, business area, regional, country, and specialist counsel; manage competing priorities across ABB; clarify ownership and scope; and advise senior stakeholders under time pressure.
  • Strong commercial judgment and substantial experience in commercial contracts, disputes, strategic transactions, and cross-border matters, with the ability to identify material risks, develop practical options, support timely business decisions, and engage specialists when needed.


Preferred Experience
  • Experience with artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, or Harvey, preferred; if not experienced, demonstrated willingness to learn and quickly build AI fluency.
  • Strong knowledge of anti-bribery and anti-corruption requirements relevant across the Americas, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and experience supporting internal investigations.
  • Knowledge of professional, contractor, electrical licensing, and related regulatory requirements in one or more Americas jurisdictions, with the ability to coordinate local advice where needed.•
  • Working knowledge of employment and human resources law in one or more Americas jurisdictions preferred, with the ability to identify when local specialist advice is required.
  • Candidates must already have work authorization that would permit them to work for ABB in the US.


What's in it for you

We give you the space to lead, the support to grow, and the chance to make a difference. Whether you're solving problems, building something new, or helping others succeed, your impact is real. You'll be part of a team that values your voice and celebrates your progress.

While base salary is determined by things such as the successful applicant's qualifications and experience, this position is expected to pay between $163,500 and $261,600 annually and is eligible for a short-term incentive plan/annual bonus.

ABB Benefit Summary for eligible US employees

[excludes ABB E-mobility, Athens union, Puerto Rico]

Go to MyBenefitsABB.com and click on "Candidate/Guest" to learn more

Health, Life & Disability
  • Choice between two medical plan options: A PPO plan called the Copay Plan OR a High Deductible Health Plan (with a Health Savings Account) called the High Deductible Plan.
  • Choice between two dental plan options: Core and Core Plus
  • Vision benefit
  • Company paid life insurance (2X base pay)
  • Company paid AD&D (1X base pay)
  • Voluntary life and AD&D - 100% employee paid up to maximums
  • Short Term Disability - up to 26 weeks - Company paid
  • Long Term Disability - 60% of pay - Company paid. Ability to "buy-up" to 66 2/3% of pay.
  • Supplemental benefits - 100% employee paid (Accident insurance, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Health Advocate support resources for mental/behavioral health, general health navigation and virtual health, and infertility/adoption
  • Employee discount program


Retirement
  • 401k Savings Plan with Company Contributions
  • Employee Stock Acquisition Plan (ESAP)


Time off

ABB provides 11 paid holidays. Salaried exempt positions are provided vacation under a permissive time away policy.

Building a cleaner, smarter future takes all kinds of minds: the curious, the courageous, and the creative. That's why we welcome people from all backgrounds and experiences.

Ready to make an impact?

Apply today or visit https://www.abb.com to learn more about the impact of our solutions across the globe.

About ABB Ltd

ABB Ltd is a Swiss multinational corporation that specializes in electrical equipment. The company was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. ABB operates in a variety of industries, including power generation, transmission, and distribution, as well as automation and robotics. The company's products and services are used in a range of applications, from electric vehicles to renewable energy systems. ABB has a global presence, with operations in more than 100 countries. The company is committed to sustainability and has set ambitious targets for reducing its environmental impact.
Learn more about ABB Ltd
Size
104,400 employees
Market Cap
$59.8 billion
Industry
Net Income
$5.1 billion
Founded
1988
5 Year Trend
+3%
Revenue
$26.1 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at ABB Ltd

More Legal & Accounting Jobs

Find similar Senior Legal Counsel - Americas jobs: