Deputy General Counsel

Seed is hiring a Deputy General Counsel to join as the fourth member of our dynamic Legal & Regulatory team, reporting directly into our General Counsel. This is a unique legal-business role that will allow you to work as a trusted strategic partner to leaders of Seed’s various business and operational verticals, and will allow you to own and scale a variety of initiatives cutting across our business; this includes legal strategy around commercial, intellectual property, product development and regulatory/compliance matters. We are in particular looking for a dynamic and experienced thought leader to help the company navigate the many legal and strategic opportunities and challenges as our business continues to grow.

What You’ll Do

• Navigate complex transactional, commercial and compliance/regulatory issues across the Seed universe – ranging from R&D, new product development, our intellectual property portfolio and partnerships with key third party stakeholders.
• Structure and lead negotiations around various strategic transactions including research and development agreements, complex license arrangements and other corporate development arrangements.
• Counsel business partners on legal issues around all aspects of new product development from initial concepting, to intellectual property rights and brand/marketing considerations.
• Together with Seed’s R&D and product-focused teams, oversee the company’s patent, copyright, and trademark portfolio, including strategic engagement of outside IP counsel.
• Establish systems and scalable processes – from IP development/registration to internal policies and procedures
• Manage and optimize engagement with outside commercial, IP, regulatory and litigation counsels as an extension of the internal Seed legal team.
• Review and negotiate a variety of supply, manufacturing and related commercial partnerships (and build scalable processes around the same) across global markets.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and resource, providing advice to the business to ensure compliance with applicable rules, regulations, and industry codes governing all aspects of Seed’s business. This includes identifying potential gaps in compliance controls and implementing appropriate enhancements including internal policies, procedures and training.

What You’ll Need (Requirements)

• JD required. Bar admission and in good standing in at least one state, preferably California or  New York.
• 10+ years of relevant law firm and in-house experience.
• Expertise in complex commercial transactions in highly-regulated industries, particularly focused on IP development and licensing. Experience maintaining, and building cross-functional strategy around, patent, trademark and copyright portfolios.
• Deep knowledge of applicable commercial and regulatory requirements, risk management practices, and methodologies
• Demonstrated success as a legal-business leader, particularly as a strategic partner to business units and the executive team
• Strong written and oral communication skills to, among other things, keep relevant stakeholders informed, while maintaining confidentiality.
• Comfort speaking and writing about complex matters with sufficient simplicity and pragmatism to communicate clearly with both legal and non-legal partners across all levels of the organization.
• Flexibility to adjust to rapidly changing environments and priorities.
• Eagerness to learn new things across an ever-changing regulatory and legal landscape.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills, especially in a remote-first environment.

What We’d Like to See (Desired Experience)

• Experience working for fast-growth, commercial-stage life sciences, pharmaceutical or biotech companies (including the launch of consumer-facing products in multiple jurisdictions) is a plus.
• Experience negotiating with universities and research institutes, including around research and license arrangements, is a plus.
• Experience building and scaling legal “machines”, utilizing technology/tools, replicable processes, outside counsel support and other resources.

Compensation:

The annual pay range for this full-time position is $235k – $275k with equity + benefits across all US locations (this position is 100% remote-US).