Lead Employment Counsel

The posting, as Greenhouse wrote it

Greenhouse is the first Orchestrated Hiring Ecosystem: a single place that brings the right person and the right role together at the right time. Our mission is to make hiring work for everyone – so we go to great lengths to hire great people because we believe that they’re the foundation of our success. At Greenhouse, you’ll join a team that collaborates purposefully, fosters inclusivity, and communicates with transparency and accountability so we can achieve our mission.

Join us to do the best work of your career, solving meaningful problems with remarkable teams.

Greenhouse is looking for a Lead Employment Counsel to join our team!

Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, you'll be Greenhouse's dedicated employment lawyer and the go-to legal partner for our People team and business leaders. You'll advise across the full employee lifecycle in the US and our international footprint, including employer of record and contractor arrangements, own our employment policies and agreements, and manage outside counsel on litigation and specialized matters.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership role. In a single day you might walk an HR business partner through an accommodation request, mark up a sales commission plan, and prepare for a mediation. You'll also build the training, templates, and self-service guidance that let a busy People team handle routine questions with confidence and escalate the right ones. And because Greenhouse builds hiring software, you'll have a real voice in how AI is reshaping employment law, both for us and for our customers.

Who will love this job

• A trusted advisor - you build credibility quickly with HR partners, managers, and executives, and you turn legal risk into plain, practical guidance they can act on
• A builder who scales - as the sole employment specialist, you prioritize well and multiply your impact through policies, playbooks, and training rather than answering every question one at a time
• A detail-obsessed drafter - you sweat the language in agreements, policies, and compensation plans because you know that's where the risk lives
• A pragmatic, curious lawyer - you track a fast-moving landscape (pay transparency, restrictive covenants, new leave mandates, AI in employment decisions) and make sound calls grounded in ethics, integrity, and the human impact of every decision

What you’ll do

• Serve as the primary legal advisor to the People team (HR business partners, People Operations, Total Rewards, and Talent Acquisition) and business leaders on employee relations, performance management, terminations, reductions in force, leaves of absence, and accommodations
• Lead wage and hour compliance, including FLSA and state exemption classification, timekeeping and overtime practices, payroll issues, and periodic classification audits in partnership with Total Rewards
• Review and advise on compensation programs, including sales commission and bonus plans, overpayment recoupment, privileged pay equity a

[…]
olidays and up to 80 hours of paid sick leave. Non-exempt employees accrue up to 20-25 days of paid vacation time annually, depending on tenure, and exempt employees have flexible paid time off (PTO).

The anticipated closing date for this role is December 18th, 2026.

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Who we are

At Greenhouse, we live by our mission through using our own product to help us hire the right person for the job, every time. We’re committed to designing and responsibly using AI tools to transform how we work while keeping people at the center. We are a remote-first company and have shared office spaces in New York City and Ireland, and optional co-working spaces that give us flexibility to do our best work anywhere. We take an active role in our growth through a performance review program that’s committed to providing actionable feedback, and a bonus structure that rewards great performance. We believe that bringing together a variety of perspectives makes us a stronger company – and we nurture leaders who create an inclusive culture and invest into employee resource groups that celebrate our differences and life experiences. We’re proud to have built an award-winning culture that’s been recognized as Fortune’s Best Places to Work and Inc.’s Best Workplaces multiple years in a row.

Greenhouse Software is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, reach out to accommodations@greenhouse.io.

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