Director, Legal

At Submittable, we are transforming how organizations create social impact. Our platform empowers thousands of mission-driven organizations, from nonprofits to government entities, to make a difference in their communities and beyond. In 2024, our innovative software helped organizations worldwide run 30,000 programs, welcomed 1.2 million applicants, and facilitated the distribution of more than $10 billion in funding through our products on behalf of our clients.

We are on a mission to help organizations accelerate their impact, so we are proud to partner with organizations focused on Equity & Social Justice, Children & Education, Creative & Arts, Health & Wellness, Economic Justice & Opportunity, and Environment & Climate. At Submittable, technology and purpose converge, offering a unique opportunity to contribute to meaningful change.

About the Role

Submittable is hiring a Director, Legal to lead our legal function as we scale our SaaS business. You'll be a hands-on legal leader, responsible for day-to-day legal operations, the legal team, and the policies and processes that let Submittable grow with confidence. You'll manage the legal team and serve as a primary resource on privacy law, customer contract negotiation, and product and technology intellectual property matters, while also advising on the broader range of legal issues a growing SaaS company faces. This role reports to the CFO and works closely with teams across the organization and with the executive leadership team.

What You’ll Do

• Lead the day-to-day legal function, setting priorities and standards for how legal work gets done across the company.

• Build, manage, and mentor a legal team, including hiring, workload distribution, and professional development.

• Serve as a primary resource on data privacy and security law (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and other U.S. and international privacy regimes), including policy development and incident response.

• Negotiate customer contracts, including MSAs, order forms, DPAs, and enterprise procurement paperwork, balancing legal risk against deal velocity.

• Advise Product and Engineering on intellectual property matters, including IP ownership, licensing, open-source usage, and protection of proprietary technology.

• Partner with Sales and Revenue Operations to maintain contracting playbooks, standard terms, and approval thresholds that let deals move quickly without unnecessary escalation.

• Manage outside counsel relationships and legal spend across litigation, IP, and specialty areas.

• Advise company leadership on governance, risk, and compliance matters, escalating to the executive team as needed.

• Support employment law matters in partnership with People/HR, including policy review and workplace investigations as needed.

• Monitor the regulatory and legislative landscape relevant to SaaS, data privacy, artificial intelligence, and the sectors Submittable serves, and translate changes into practical guidance for the business.

• Manage the contract lifecycle management approach and legal operations tooling.

• Collaborate with the Finance team to address and collect overdue customer accounts, utilizing escalation procedures and legal remedies as appropriate.

• Establish and track key performance indicators for the Legal department to assess progress and fuel continuous process improvement, including the integration of AI-driven workflow automation.

• Support M&A, corporate transactions, and other strategic initiatives as they arise.

What We’re Looking For

• J.D. and active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state.

• 8+ years of legal experience, including at least 3 years in-house at a B2B SaaS or technology company. Private equity-backed experience is a plus.

• At least 3 years of hands-on experience negotiating SaaS customer contracts, including MSAs, DPAs, and complex order forms.

• Experience managing or mentoring attorneys and legal professionals...