Senior Corporate Counsel, Automattic
$160-300k
Work from anywhere, and make the web a better place for everyone, everywhere.
Job no longer available
Work from anywhere, and make the web a better place for everyone, everywhere.
1001+ employees
Job no longer available
$160-300k
1001+ employees
Company mission
To democratize publishing and commerce so that anyone with a story can tell it, and anyone with a product can sell it, regardless of income, gender, politics, language, or where they live in the world.
Role
Who you are
- Have a JD from a US-accredited law school and 5+ years’ experience in legal practice
- Are well versed in issues relevant to our business, including advising on securities law compliance and corporate governance; managing international subsidiaries; structuring and negotiating financing, M&A, and other strategic transactions; software integrations; licensing (especially open source licenses); and intellectual property. Everything at Automattic is done on a global scale and in an international context; bonus points for breadth of experience outside the US
- Thrive in a fast-paced environment, and have experience working on multiple complex transactions simultaneously, such as tender offers, fund formations, public offerings, etc
- Possess an agile and curious mind. You’re not afraid to ask questions or admit when you are wrong
- Are business-minded and practical in addressing legal issues. We don’t write a lot of memos at Automattic; we solve problems and get things done
- Can write clear, concise, and informative documentation
- Operate independently
- Excel at understanding complex topics and explaining them to others in clear, concise terms, as well as finding streamlined solutions to complex issues
- Love the open web and all it stands for
What the job involves
- We’re looking for a US-qualified attorney who is well versed in issues relevant to our late-stage private business, including advising on securities law compliance and corporate governance;handling complex international M&A, equity, and debt transactions; establishing and managing international subsidiaries; and running employee equity programs.
- This position reports to our General Counsel
- Lead all areas related to the company’s global securities laws matters and related compliance
- Manage our network of global subsidiaries, including managing all subsidiary board meetings, advising and executing changes to our entity structure, implementing intercompany agreements, and assisting with local compliance requirements
- Assist with board agendas and materials, and keep records of all meetings and corporate actions
- Oversee our innovative stock plan for Automatticians, and structure, negotiate, and execute stock sale transactions
- Lead deal execution for fundraising and M&A transactions
- Manage our investment portfolio and lead deal execution for venture investments
- Design legal and business processes that enable Automattic to scale internationally
Our take
At a time when companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google were turning into monopolistic market leaders, Automattic was building its open-source infrastructure on a distributed, volunteer-run workforce. Since its launch in 2005, the company has continued to evolve and expand as it built its new web empire.
Automattic is the company behind WordPress (which powers roughly 42% of all websites), Jetpack, Tumblr, Simplenote, WooCommerce (which is believed to run more than a quarter of all online storefronts), Longreads, Crowdsignal, Atavist, Day One, and more.
The company’s “Five for the Future” initiative allocates 5% of its resources to further the development of WordPress, and many other companies that utilize Automattic’s communities follow some version of the initiative, contributing back code and time to support the community. Still spinning out new projects such as an anti-spam filter and online identity safeguards, the unicorn company is a powerhouse that is well set to continue its path to long-lasting growth.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 5 rounds)
Feb 2021
$288m
LATE VC
Sep 2019
$300m
SERIES D
Total funding: $778.6m
Company benefits
- Professional Development · “I will never stop learning” is part of our company creed. From leadership development to improving your writing skills, we have a comprehensive list of programs and resources available to everyone, and we’re also happy to pay for any hardware, software, books, or conferences that promote continued learning.
- Career Coaching · Coaching sessions to help you set and achieve professional goals are available for all Automatticians – team members and team leads. This benefit resets each calendar year.
- Time off · Our open vacation policy (no set number of days per year) is designed to help you to be at your best! There is no minimum or maximum, but we encourage you to take at least 25 days of time off per year.
- Home Office · We offer home office setup and coworking allowances. Working from a coffee shop? You can use your coworking allowance for the requisite latte!
- Wellness · We offer mental wellness benefits including an Employee Assistance Program, a monthly subscription to a mindfulness app (including Calm, Headspace, Ten Percent Happier, Waking up, and Insight timer), and virtual ergonomic consultations and access to a wealth of virtual ergonomic tips, stretch videos and yoga exercises.
- Parental leave · Open parental leave (including maternity, paternity, LGBTQ+, and adoption for all parents). If you’ve been with Automattic for 12 months, your leave up to 6 months is fully paid.
- Anniversary Awards · Paid three-month sabbatical encouraged every five years and other cool anniversary surprises.
- Automattic Stock · Check out Buying and selling Automattic Stock!
- Life Insurance · Company-sponsored life insurance.
- Compensation · We attract talent around the world and pay global salary ranges. We prioritize internal equity and review your pay every 12-18 months.
- Sabbatical · Working at Automattic provides numerous opportunities to learn new skills, grow in your career, and have a significant and positive impact on the lives of millions. It also offers the rare (and juicy!) benefit of a paid, three-month sabbatical every five years.
Company values
- We are passionate advocates for our customers and the open web community.
- We build our business sustainably, through passionate and loyal customers.
- We never stop learning.
- We don’t just work on things that are assigned to us.
- We know there’s no such thing as a status quo.
- We never pass up the opportunity to help out a colleague.
- We are motivated by impact, and we know that open source is one of the most powerful ideas of our generation.
- We are in a marathon, not a sprint. No matter how far away the goal may be, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day.
- Given time, there is no problem that’s insurmountable.
- We communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company.
Company HQ
Bernal Heights, San Francisco, CA
Articles
Leadership
Matt Mullenweg
(CEO)Former President at Automattic. Current Lead Developer at WordPress, and Board Member at the New Museum of Contemporary Art and ecoAmerica. Former Board Member at Grist, and GitLab Inc. Previous Senior Product Manager at CNET Networks.
People progressing
Design Director/UX Ninja Jetpack. Strategic UX/Product Design leader with over 19 years of experience in Product Design, User Experience & User Research methodologies & Product Management.
Head of Communications. Writer, editor, communicator, producer. Their first WordPress site was a self-hosted tech blog called effinnerds.com that she built in 2008. Speaks English, Khmer, and Spanish.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Automattic
- We are committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: https://automattic.com/diversity-and-inclusion/ A diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace comprises people of many identities and abilities. It invites community members to share their opinions and ideas, which it then uses to improve the company. It celebrates employees’ various cultures and heritages; it plans team- and company-wide meetups that are accessible to all; it invites people to effect change within the company; it provides an array of tools and methods to help its employees become experts in their positions; and it encourages individualized successes, which benefit the company at large. Automattic is a Most Loved Company (https://mostlovedworkplace.com/companies/automattic-inc/) and Disability Confident Committed (https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/).
Share this job
View 13 more jobs at Automattic