Assistant General Counsel - Labor & Employment

About Kraken

Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing crypto platforms, trusted by over 10 million individuals and institutions across the globe. It offers spot trading, margin, futures, staking, and OTC services, with products built for both individual investors and institutional clients.

This is a fully remote role for a US-licensed attorney, preferably based on the West Coast, to join Payward’s world-class in-house legal department, reporting to the Global Head of Labor & Employment.

The Opportunity

As a senior member of the Labor and Employment (L&E) legal team, you will share the day-to-day workload with the Global Head of L&E and the broader team. Your responsibilities will include:

• Strategic Advisory: Advise the company on worker classification issues, employee separations, executive compensation agreements, compensation plans, and wage-and-hour matters.
• Risk Mitigation: Advise on risk mitigation for trade secret matters and restrictive covenants.
• M&A Support: Support employment and labor due diligence for M&A transactions and advise on post-closing workforce integration, including harmonizing employment terms, policies, and compensation/benefits programs.
• Global Expansion: Provide expert strategic input to the business and recruiting teams on expanding Payward’s global footprint, including EOR and direct employment decisions, transitions between models, global mobility, and contingent workforce risks.
• Policy & Training: Work closely with the PX (HR) team and business leaders to craft on-point policies and procedures, and to develop and deliver related manager and employee training.
• Investigations & Relations: Support the PX team with global workplace investigations and employee relations matters involving whistleblower allegations, discrimination, and personnel performance issues.
• Litigation Management: Manage outside counsel on pre-litigation, arbitration, and local-law matters, and coordinate with litigation counsel on employment disputes.
• AI Integration: Help build and refine AI-enabled workflows for the L&E team, such as contract review, policy drafting, and diligence, while setting practical guardrails for their use.
• Industry Monitoring: Monitor and advise on global L&E trends, including those within the cryptocurrency industry, to support competitive adaptability and talent retention.

What You Bring

• 10+ years of legal experience advising in the US and other jurisdictions on Employment, Labor, and Executive Compensation issues (including both in-house and law-firm experience working with high-growth and mature enterprise environments).
• Broad international Labor and Employment background (law and drafting).
• Flexibility to work hours that overlap with PX team members and Asia-Pacific colleagues.
• Experience with due diligence and post-closing workforce integration for acquisitions.
• Experience with compensation plans and data privacy issues affecting employees and candidates.
• Active license to practice law in at least one US State, or eligibility to practice as registered in-house counsel.
• Hands-on proficiency using generative AI tools (such as Claude or ChatGPT) in day-to-day legal work, with sound judgment on verifying outputs and protecting confidentiality.
• A proactive, entrepreneurial mindset with an opportunity-making attitude.

Nice to Haves

• Interest in the crypto industry and Kraken's mission.
• Experience in fintech, crypto, or other regulated financial services industries.
• Experience in Asian and/or Latin American employment markets.