Senior Legal Counsel - Commercial

About Us

Always open. Our code, our culture, our opportunities. Leading open innovation without limits. We are SUSE.

SUSE is a global leader in innovative, reliable and secure enterprise open source solutions, including SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), Rancher and NeuVector. More than 60% of the Fortune 500 rely on SUSE to power their mission-critical workloads, enabling them to innovate everywhere from the data center to the cloud, to the edge and beyond. SUSE puts the open back in open source, collaborating with partners and communities to give customers the agility to tackle innovation challenges today and the freedom to evolve their strategy and solutions tomorrow.

We are open in our roots and open in our approach, striving to be the most trusted open innovator in the World. Openness extends beyond our technology. Our vibrant community thrives on diversity and connectivity without borders.

Senior Legal Counsel - Commercial

Job Description

The Role

The SUSE Legal Team is seeking to engage a Senior Legal Counsel (Commercial) to join the commercial legal team. SUSE Legal is undergoing a transition towards best-in-class, partnering effectively with the business and further positioning for growth as SUSE continues its journey as a mature and successful key player in the Open Source Software space.

In this role, you will work as part of a team of lawyers and contract negotiators around the globe to provide efficient and high quality legal support to SUSE sales, product and engineering, and procurement teams.

Core responsibilities include tasks in one or more of the following areas, depending on experience and skill-set:

• Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of commercial, IP and technology agreements and other related legal documents, such as software subscription agreements, consulting agreements and statements of work, and partner agreements for resellers, distributors, systems integrators, independent software vendors, and cloud partners;

• Cross-functional collaboration to expand business models and marketing new products and programs;

• Improve and expand commercial operations of SUSE and assist with appropriate risk analysis;

• Compliance with laws, regulations, and internal policies and directives;

• Support or lead legally complex transactions; and

• Legal advice and legal training to SUSE colleagues at all levels.

Secondary responsibilities include tasks in one or more of the following areas:

• Open-source licensing;

• Management of strategic projects;

• Intellectual property rights management and protection, including trademarks and patents

• Data privacy and security (working knowledge of GDPR and other similar data protection legislation, privacy risk assessment, drafting and negotiating data processing agreements and managing breach response);

• Export compliance;

• Sanctions regulations and legislation;

• Contentious and non-contentious employment/HR legal support, including employment claims,investigations, HR policy advice.

About You

• License to practice law in any U.S. state

• 8+ years of professional experience with contract negotiations in the technology or software industry; solid knowledge of commercial contracting law and related issues such as IP and licensing

• Strong technical, drafting, research and negotiation skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and an ability to explain complex matters in

• Strong commercial/business acumen and judgement to allow effective evaluation of legal risk in the context of the wider commercial strategy and corporate objectives

• Ability to work autonomously, take initiative and be proactive in addressing new matters or challenges

• Well-developed prioritization skills and ability to deal with multiple projects and internal clients at any one time

• Desire to learn more about new areas of law and the wider industry

• Good sense of humor and the ability to collaborate with colleagues across teams and jurisdictions

Job

Legal

What We Offer

We empower you to be bold, driving your career to create the future you want. We celebrate and reward your achievements.

SUSE is a dynamic environment that is evolving rapidly, thus requiring agility, strong entrepreneurship and an open mind.

This is a compelling opportunity for the right person to join us as we continue to scale and prosper.

If youre a big thinker, obsessed by execution and thrive in a dynamic environment in which you can tangibly create a lasting legacy, then please apply now!

We give you the freedom to be yourself. You will work in a global community of unique individuals like you with different backgrounds, talents, skills and perspectives. A truly open community where everyone is welcome, has a voice and is encouraged to reach their full potential regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or any other characteristics.

Sounds like the right fit for you? Click Apply to submit your resume. A recruiter will contact you if your skills match our current or any future positions. In the meantime, stay updated on the latest SUSE news and job vacancies by joining our Talent Community.

SUSE Values

• We are passionate about customers

• We are respectful and inclusive

• We are empowered and accountable

• We are trustworthy and act with integrity

• We are collaborative

• We are SUSE!