Senior Product Counsel

Job description

ABOUT US At Sierra, we’re building a platform to enable every company in the world to build better, more human customer experiences with AI. We partner with industry leaders such as SoftBank, Uber, Rivian, CLEAR, and Sutter Health. We are primarily an in-person company based in San Francisco, with growing offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. We are guided by a set of values that are at the core of our actions and define our culture: Trust, Customer Obsession, Craftsmanship, Intensity, and Family. These values are the foundation of our work, and we are committed to upholding them in everything we do. Our co-founders are Bret Taylor https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettaylor/ and Clay Bavor https://www.linkedin.com/in/claybavor/. Bret currently serves as Board Chair of OpenAI. Previously, he was co-CEO of Salesforce (which had acquired the company he founded, Quip) and CTO of Facebook. Bret was also one of Google's earliest product managers and co-creator of Google Maps. Before founding Sierra, Clay spent 18 years at Google, where he most recently led Google Labs. Earlier, he started and led Google’s AR/VR effort, Project Starline, and Google Lens. Before that, Clay led the product and design teams for Google Workspace. WHAT YOU’LL DO We're hiring a Senior Product Counsel to be a core member of Sierra's growing legal team. This role will report to our Associate General Counsel, Product and Privacy, as part of our growing product legal function. We are looking for someone who has deep expertise in product counseling for AI or other emerging technologies. You will be a legal partner for Sierra’s product and engineering teams, and help shape how our products go to market responsibly, ensuring privacy, compliance, and risk considerations are embedded throughout the product lifecycle. You will thrive in dynamic environments, enjoy tackling challenges beyond your comfort zone, and be excited to contribute across the business. In return, we'll provide the support and opportunities you need to grow and excel as a lawyer. You'll be part of a legal team that is highly respected within the company — committed to excellence, collaboration, and making a meaningful impact. PRODUCT - End-to-end responsibility for product legal support: counsel Product and Engineering teams from concept through launch across Sierra's agent platform and new products. - Work closely with Engineering teams to integrate privacy-by-design principles and AI transparency measures into product development. - Advise the customer-facing Agent Development teams on legal requirements of product features, including consumer protection, telecommunications (e.g., voice and messaging), and industry-specific requirements for regulated customers. - Develop scalable product review processes, launch checklists, and self-serve guidance that let product teams move quickly. REGULATORY (WITH FOCUS ON AI) - Advise on emerging AI-specific regulations and their applicability to Sierra's products. - Partner with the privacy team to implement AI governance policies and frameworks to ensure responsible AI deployment. - Monitor legal developments affecting AI products, advising product leadership on risks, trends, and design implications. WHAT YOU’LL BRING - 8+ years of legal experience, with a combination of large international law firm and in-house experience at a tech company. - Deep experience advising product and engineering teams on new product development, ideally involving AI/ML, communications, or platform products. - Working knowledge of the legal domains that touch product development, including privacy (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), AI regulatory frameworks (e.g., EU AI Act, NIST AI Risk Management Framework), consumer protection, and IP. - Ability to partner with technical teams to understand all aspects of Sierra's product offering. - Strong analytical skills and the ability to balance legal risks and business objectives in a fast-moving environment. - Strong verbal and written communication skills and the ability to partner with both legal and non-legal stakeholders. - A strong work ethic with an eye for detail. You will strive for perfection, and expect that of others. - Be a team player first and foremost. Sierra is a unique place to work, with a strong sense of togetherness, and the legal team is no exception. You will look out for your colleagues, be accustomed to sharing and helping the team succeed. EVEN BETTER… - Experience with voice/telephony products and related regulatory regimes (e.g., TCPA, state call recording laws). - Experience counseling on products sold into regulated industries (healthcare, financial services). - Familiarity with machine learning models and their associated risks. - Previous experience developing trust and safety or responsible AI programs. - Startup experience and comfort with rapid iteration and ambiguity. OUR VALUES - Trust: We build trust with our customers with our accountability, empathy, quality, and responsiveness. We build trust in AI by making it more accessible, safe, and useful. We build trust with each other by showing up for each other professionally and personally, creating an environment that enables all of us to do our best work. - Customer Obsession: We deeply understand our customers’ business goals and relentlessly focus on driving outcomes, not just technical milestones. Everyone at the company knows and spends time with our customers. When our customer is having an issue, we drop everything and fix it. - Craftsmanship: We get the details right, from the words on the page to the system architecture. We have good taste. When we notice something isn’t right, we take the time to fix it. We are proud of the products we produce. We continuously self-reflect to continuously self-improve. - Intensity: We know we don’t have the luxury of patience. We play to win. We care about our product being the best, and when it isn’t, we fix it. When we fail, we talk about it openly and without blame so we succeed the next time. - Family: We know that balance and intensity are compatible, and we model it in our actions and processes. We are the best technology company for parents. We support and respect each other and celebrate each other’s personal and professional achievements. WHAT WE OFFER We want our benefits to reflect our values and offer the following to full-time employees: - Flexible (unlimited) paid time off - Medical, dental, and vision benefits for you and your family - Life insurance and disability benefits - Retirement plan dependent on country of employment - Parental leave - Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot - Lunch, as well as delicious snacks and coffee to keep you energized - Discretionary benefit stipend giving people the ability to spend where it matters most - Free alphorn lessons These benefits are further detailed in Sierra's policies, may vary by region, and are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefits plans. Eligible full-time employees can participate in Sierra's equity plans subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies. BE YOU, WITH US We're working to bring the transformative power of AI to every organization in the world. To do so, it is important to us that the diversity of our employees represents the diversity of our customers. We believe that our work and culture are better when we encourage, support, and respect different skills and experiences represented within our team. We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't precisely match the job description. We strive to evaluate all applicants consistently without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class.