Associate Commercial Counsel

Job description

**Who We Are:** At Emburse, you’ll not just imagine the future – you’ll build it. As a leader in expense intelligence, we are creating a future where technology drives business value and inspires extraordinary results. Our AI-powered platform helps organizations modernize financial operations, increase visibility, and optimize spend across the enterprise. The Associate Commercial Counsel will serve as a core legal partner to the Sales, CSM, Product and Deal Desk teams, responsible for negotiating and closing complex, high-value B2B SaaS customer contracts while protecting Emburse through disciplined adherence to a contract playbook and risk framework. This role requires sound judgment, speed, resilience under pressure, and the ability to balance revenue enablement with risk management in a private equity-backed, high-growth environment. This role will play a critical role in the next phase of Emburse’s exciting trajectory, and it is an excellent opportunity to join a fun, fast-paced and good-natured legal team. **Essential Functions** - Lead legal negotiations for large enterprise SaaS agreements, including MSAs, Order Forms, SOWs, DPAs, and amendments. - Act as a deal-enabler, partnering closely with Sales and Revenue Operations to drive contracts to signature without unnecessary friction or delay. - Apply and enforce the Company’s commercial contracting playbook, including fallback positions, escalation thresholds, and approval workflows. - Identify, assess, and clearly communicate legal and commercial risk, where possible offering practical alternatives that preserve deal momentum. - Support global contracting needs, including some cross-border transactions and region-specific legal requirements (e.g., data protection, governing law, payment terms). - Advise on issues related to data protection, security, liability allocation, indemnities, and regulatory considerations common to enterprise SaaS customers. - Collaborate with Deal Desk, Finance and Accounting on revenue recognition-sensitive terms, pricing mechanics, and payment structures. - Contribute to ongoing contract standardization, template improvements, and process optimization to support scale. - Manage a high volume of concurrent matters under tight deadlines while maintaining accuracy and consistency. - Escalate material issues appropriately and exercise independent judgment on deal risk. **Education and Experience** *Education -* Required: Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited U.S. law school ***Experience*** **Required:** - 5–8 years of relevant legal experience, with a significant portion focused on commercial contracting - Prior experience negotiating enterprise-level B2B agreements - Experience in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment (e.g., SaaS company, high-growth tech company, or Am Law firm with strong commercial practice) **Preferred:** - Experience supporting PE-backed or VC-backed companies - Exposure to international contracting and data protection frameworks (e.g., GDPR) **Certifications** - Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction - Eligible to work in Texas (Texas bar membership a plus but not required) **Required Skills** - In-house experience at a B2B SaaS company - Enterprise-grade contract negotiation skills with ability and senior-level presence to hold firm on non-negotiables while moving deals forward and treating customers and prospects with diplomacy and deference - Strong commercial judgment and comfort making risk-based decisions in real time - Ability to operate effectively under pressure, tight timelines, and competing priorities - Clear, direct communicator who can translate legal risk into practical business guidance - Strong understanding of SaaS-specific issues, including liability caps, indemnities, SLAs, data protection, and security terms - High degree of ownership, accountability, and follow-through - Comfortable working with senior stakeholders across Sales, Finance, and Executive Leadership - Detail-oriented without losing sight of the broader commercial objectives