Senior Commercial Counsel

The posting, as Column wrote it

ABOUT COLUMN

For companies building financial technology and transforming the financial services space, the biggest bottleneck to their growth and innovation is often the underlying banks and infrastructure stack they rely on. We have spent our careers founding and scaling companies like Plaid, Square, Meta, Blend, and Affirm, and have seen this problem firsthand — builders and developers needing to partner with traditional banks, and creating API and abstraction layers over the patchwork that is the bank, its core, and many other vendors. All of this results in a complex (and often expensive) banking supply chain involving a user, fintech, BaaS middleware provider, bank, core and the Federal Reserve.

At Column, we set out to simplify and fix this. We are a bank and a software company built from the ground up, offering builders and developers technology-forward banking solutions that cut out the hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers. This means a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking supply chain. Come build with us!

THE OPPORTUNITY

Column is growing its in-house commercial legal team to own the legal infrastructure behind our most important commercial and strategic relationships. This isn't your typical in-house commercial counsel role reviewing SaaS contracts - you'll architect novel partnership structures that enable modern banking experiences, navigating complex regulatory requirements along the way. You'll work closely with Column's Sales & Partnerships, Risk, and Compliance teams to define how we structure our deals, serve our customers, and scale our platform safely.

This is a hybrid in-person role based in our Presidio office — one of the most beautiful locations in SF — 3–4+ days per week. We offer up to $2,000/month in post-tax rent subsidy for employees who live within 2 miles of our office and welcome candidates who would relocate.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own complex agreements end-to-end: Structure, draft, and negotiate complex customer, and vendor, and third-party agreements covering a broad range of banking products and services, including agreements related to payments and money movement service and banking partnerships inclusive of deposit account, card, and lending programs.
• Build and manage legal playbooks and templates that scale: Develop and maintain templates and inventories of contracts, terms of services, notices, and disclosures for the Bank’s products, services, and distribution channels that enable speed without sacrificing quality.
• Negotiate: Lead negotiations with high-growth fintechs and enterprise customers, balancing commercial priorities with regulatory requirements.
• Develop strong cross-functional partnerships: Work closely with the Sales and Business teams to understand the Bank’s goals, strategy, and risk tolerance for each deal in order to develop an efficient and risk-based contracting strategy.
• Expand into additional areas of law: As the fou

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ment of up to $20,000 in qualified expenses

• 🏡 Up to $2,000 (post-tax) monthly rent subsidy for employees living within 2 miles of Column’s office
• 💳 FSA and HSA account options to enable use of pre-tax money for medical and dependent care expenses
• 📈 401k plan, including self-directed brokerage options
• 🌴 Flexible time-off policy - take the time off that you want and need to relax and recharge
• 🧳 Sabbatical Program - reach your 5-year anniversary to take up to 8 weeks of fully paid leave to rest, recharge, and pursue personal interest - with full salary and benefits
• 👶 100% paid parental leave, including 16 weeks for birth mothers, 12 weeks for primary caregivers, and 8 weeks for secondary caregivers
• 😇 Up to $4,500 in annual reimbursements for backup childcare
• 🍽️ Catered lunches and dinners for SF employees
• 🚆 Commuter benefits, including paid transportation to-and-from the office
• 🎉 Regular team building events, including annual offsite

PAY TRANSPARENCY

Compensation packages at Column include base salary, equity, and benefits. New hire offers are made based on a candidate's experience, expertise, geographic location, and internal pay equity relative to peers.

The annual base salary range for this position is $210,000 - $300,000 + equity.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU

Column is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible. We value bringing together a team with different perspectives, educational backgrounds, and life experiences, and believe a diversity of ideas is what allows us to develop the best solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, please reach out to accommodations@column.com.

We participate in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program here https://e-verify.gov.