Assistant General Counsel - Commercial (Partnerships)

About Kraken

Payward – the parent company behind Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, Payward Services, and CF Benchmarks – has spent the last 15 years building modern and globally accessible financial infrastructure platforms designed to advance an open, global financial system.

Founded in 2011, Kraken is trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions worldwide, offering spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services.

The Team

The Commercial Legal team serves as strategic legal partners across all Kraken departments, managing commercial contracts, partnerships, procurement, licensing, and vendor relationships to enable rapid innovation while mitigating legal and regulatory risks.

As Assistant General Counsel – Commercial (Partnerships), you will report directly to the Head of Commercial Legal. You will lead Kraken’s product partnership commercial legal efforts, collaborating cross-functionally with Product, Sales, Finance, Engineering, and Regulatory teams to design and execute novel, high-impact commercial arrangements.

The Opportunity

• Serve as lead commercial counsel for cutting-edge, high-visibility product partnerships, driving legal strategy and execution for complex commercial arrangements.
• Act as a strategic partner to Product, Sales, Engineering, Finance, and Regulatory teams to design go-to-market structures and partnership models.
• Advise leadership and stakeholders on commercial legal matters, negotiations, technology agreements, strategic partnerships, and terms of service.
• Oversee the development and improvement of legal templates, playbooks, AI processes, and risk management frameworks.
• Collaborate closely with Compliance, Tax, and Regulatory teams to assess legal risk and implement forward-thinking business solutions.
• Support contract lifecycle management (CLM), legal process automation, and tooling enhancements.
• Assist with M&A efforts, including contract diligence and integration.

What You Bring

• J.D. or equivalent legal degree and an active license to practice law in at least one jurisdiction.
• 8+ years of commercial legal experience, ideally combining top-tier law firm and in-house experience.
• Proven track record leading complex, high-stakes commercial transactions in a global environment, especially involving technology, SaaS, or strategic partnerships.
• Deep understanding of product development and go-to-market legal strategies.
• Excellent contract drafting, negotiation, and analytical skills.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, including mentoring and managing high-performing teams.
• Ability to operate independently and decisively in a fast-paced, remote-first environment.

Nice to Haves

• Experience in fintech, crypto, or other highly regulated industries.
• Familiarity with vendor onboarding, procurement processes, and compliance frameworks.
• Background collaborating closely with product and engineering teams to launch consumer-facing and enterprise products.
• Experience implementing or managing CLM tools.
• Passion for crypto, Web3, and emerging technologies.