Senior Commercial Counsel

• Senior commercial and product counsel supporting Sales, partnerships, and product development in a regulated fintech environment
• Trusted legal partner enabling revenue growth and compliant product innovation through strong negotiation, risk assessment, and commercial judgment
• Remote-first opportunity for US-based employees with the option to work in-person out of our Manhattan office

Start your adventure with Zip

As Senior Commercial Counsel on Zip’s US Legal Team, you will serve as a trusted legal partner to Sales and cross-functional stakeholders, leading high-impact commercial negotiations and enabling revenue growth. You’ll bring strong transactional judgment, deep experience in commercial contracting, and a pragmatic approach to balancing risk and business outcomes.

This role is highly embedded in both the go-to-market and product development lifecycle—supporting deal strategy, navigating complex negotiations, and helping the business close efficiently in a regulated environment. In addition to commercial work, you will partner closely with Product, Risk, and Compliance teams to advise on regulatory requirements, product design, and go-to-market strategies for new and evolving financial products.

You will also contribute to improving how contracting is executed at scale through practical use of tools, templates, and AI-enabled workflows that enhance speed and consistency.

You’ll join a collaborative, high-impact legal team that operates as a strategic partner to the business—working closely with Sales, Product, Risk, Compliance, and external partners to support Zip’s continued growth in the US market.

Interesting problems you’ll get to solve

• Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial agreements, including merchant, partner, marketing, and vendor agreements within the payments and financial services ecosystem
• Act as a strategic legal partner to Sales—advising on deal structure, negotiation strategy, and risk trade-offs to enable efficient deal closure
• Lead negotiations with sophisticated counterparties, balancing commercial objectives with regulatory, compliance, and risk considerations
• Advise Product, Engineering, and business stakeholders on legal and regulatory requirements impacting product design, features, and customer experience in the US market
• Provide guidance on consumer financial services, payments, and related regulatory frameworks to support compliant product development and launches
• Partner with Risk and Compliance to assess and mitigate regulatory risk in new products, features, and go-to-market strategies
• Translate complex regulatory requirements into practical, actionable guidance for Product and business teams
• Partner cross-functionally with Product, Risk, Compliance, Credit, and Engineering to support new product launches and evolving business models
• Liaise with external stakeholders, including banking partners and external counsel, to align on legal interpretations and requirements
• Identify recurring negotiation patterns and develop scalable solutions (playbooks, fallback positions, templates) to improve deal velocity
• Leverage AI-enabled tools and contract lifecycle workflows (e.g., contract review, clause analysis, workflow automation) to improve efficiency, consistency, and turnaround time
• Support training and enablement for Sales and business teams to improve self-service capabilities and reduce friction in the contracting process

What you’ll bring to the team

• 8+ years of legal experience (law firm and/or in-house), with significant focus on commercial contracting and transaction support; 10+ years preferred 
• JD (or equivalent) and active bar membership in at least one US jurisdiction
• Proven experience partnering closely with Sales or commercial teams and leading complex negotiations from term sheet through execution
• Strong commercial judgment with the ability to balance legal risk, customer experience, and revenue impact in fast-paced environments
• Experience in fintech, payments, consumer finance, or other regulated industries, including advising on product development and regulatory considerations impacting financial products
• Experience partnering with Product and Engineering teams to guide compliant product design and launches
• Demonstrated ability to influence stakeholders and drive alignment across business, legal, and compliance functions
• Experience developing or applying contract playbooks, templates, and scalable negotiation frameworks
• Practical experience with AI-enabled legal tools or contract lifecycle management systems, with the ability to apply technology to improve contracting workflows and efficiency
• Abili