Lead Commercial Counsel

About Rippling

Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system. Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third‑party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds.

Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America’s best startup employers by Forbes. We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from  addresses.

We are seeking an experienced, highly‑motivated, and business‑minded Lead Commercial Counsel on the Legal & Compliance Team. You are a sharp self‑starter that is eager to take an ownership role in scaling Rippling’s commercial legal function to be best‑in‑class, while simultaneously counseling on complex strategic initiatives and getting deals done efficiently and effectively. This is a highly visible, strategic role requiring both strong leadership and hands‑on execution.

You will report to the Associate General Counsel, Corporate, and collaborate closely with leaders across Legal & Compliance, Sales, Business Development, Revenue Operations, Procurement, Product, Real Estate, Finance, and Security.

• Advise on a variety of commercial matters, including enterprise SaaS agreements, strategic alliances, channel partnerships, customer negotiations, and vendor relationships
• Mentor and develop a small commercial team supporting Rippling’s global business
• Partner with our Sales, Business Development, and other GTM teams to develop, refine, and manage Rippling’s commercial counseling and contracting function
• Develop and refine enablement tools (collateral, playbooks, training, templates, negotiation strategies)
• Drive consistency, predictability, and scalability across Rippling’s global commercial contracting motions
• Navigate complex global regulatory frameworks to create scalable and innovative solutions to support our products and services
• Collaborate cross‑functionally with internal teams (Privacy, Security, Product, Engineering, and Finance) on development and documentation of new features and services

• 7+ years of commercial contracting experience, including 3+ years in‑house experience
• Law degree (J.D. or equivalent)
• Prior in‑house experience at a high‑growth SaaS or technology company strongly preferred
• Deep expertise in technology transactions, including SaaS licensing, data integrations, strategic alliances, procurement and vendor negotiations, and channel and reseller programs, as well as familiarity with AI, privacy, and cybersecurity considerations
• Demonstrated ability to lead or mentor attorneys or legal staff
• Excellent drafting and communication skills, with the ability to distill complex legal issues into clear, actionable advice
• Ability to thrive in a fast‑paced, rapidly evolving environment, managing a high volume of matters, shifting priorities, and time‑sensitive demands with precision and urgency
• Entrepreneurial, solution‑oriented mindset, including a bias to finding the path to “yes” but confidence in knowing when to say “no”, and a willingness to roll up your sleeves
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, project management, and process optimization skills, with a passion for building scalable and efficient legal workflows
• Sense of humor

Our team keeps Rippling’s commercial engine running efficiently and compliantly by working to accelerate revenue while protecting the business. We support Sales, Business Development, and other GTM teams globally, advising on commercial strategy, negotiating increasingly complex deals, and enabling Rippling to continue to grow and scale. This role offers the opportunity to lead and scale a world‑class commercial…