Product Counsel – Director

Whatnot

Product Counsel leader at Whatnot's high-growth marketplace providing legal support across product development lifecycle. Build legal functions and scale infrastructure for high-impact legal guidance.

Posted 5/16/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesLead💰 $349,000 - $475,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Build and lead Whatnot's product legal function
Partner with Product, Engineering, Marketing, Policy, and Business Development, advising on product launches, consumer-facing features, commercial deals, privacy, and regulatory risk
Build the infrastructure that makes the team scale: playbooks, templates, risk frameworks, and documentation practices
Serve as the primary legal point of contact embedded throughout the product development lifecycle
Identify, assess, and drive resolution of legal issues related to privacy, data security, consumer protection, intellectual property, intermediary liability, advertising, and platform regulation
Review and advise on product features, user flows, terms of service, in-app disclosures, and marketing claims to ensure legal compliance and appropriate risk allocation
Advise on novel and rapidly evolving legal areas, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, recommendation systems, generative content, and live streaming regulation
Monitor, interpret, and communicate the impact of evolving global regulations
Lead cross-functional responses to new or amended laws affecting product
Manage outside counsel relationships and external legal resources efficiently and strategically
Collaborate with Trust & Safety, Security, and Policy teams on platform integrity, content moderation, and abuse prevention initiatives

Requirements

What you’ll need

12+ years of legal experience
J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership (or eligibility to register as in-house counsel) in at least one U.S. state.
12+ years of legal experience, including substantial time advising on product and technology matters at a top-tier law firm and in-house legal department at a technology company.
Deep substantive expertise in at least several of the following: privacy and data protection (U.S. and international), consumer protection, platform/intermediary liability, intellectual property, advertising and marketing law, content moderation, and AI/ML governance.
Proven ability to provide practical, business-oriented legal counsel in a high-velocity environment – solutions-focused, not a bottleneck.
Strong executive presence and communication skills – you can distill complex legal issues into clear, actionable guidance for technical specialists, business leaders, and executives alike.
Experience working cross-functionally with product, engineering, and design teams throughout the full product development lifecycle.
Demonstrated ability to scale legal processes, build playbooks, and create systems that enable the business to move with confidence.
Experienced people manager with demonstrated experience building or leading a product counsel or technology law function, ideally from an early or nascent stage.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Generous Holiday and Time off Policy
Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision
Work From Home Support
Home office setup allowance
Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet
Care benefits
Monthly allowance for wellness
Annual allowance towards Childcare
Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses
Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally
Monthly allowance to dogfood the app
Parental Leave
16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

ATS Keywords

✓ Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools

legal experienceprivacy and data protectionconsumer protectionplatform liabilityintellectual propertyadvertising lawcontent moderationAI governancemachine learning governanceregulatory compliance

Soft Skills

executive presencecommunication skillssolutions-focusedcross-functional collaborationpeople managementbusiness-oriented legal counselability to distill complex issuesscaling legal processesbuilding playbookscreating systems

Certifications

J.D. from an accredited law schoolactive bar membership