About the role
As Managing Counsel, Commercial, you will be responsible for Waabi's commercial contracting function and serve as the senior legal advisor on the deals that drive the business forward.
Waabi builds autonomous trucks and robotaxis, and the commercial relationships behind that work range from component supply agreements with Tier 1 manufacturers to landmark OEM partnerships that define how Waabi's technology reaches the market. You will manage the full contract portfolio — routine NDAs and vendor agreements alongside critical supply chain contracts and high-stakes strategic partnerships — and own the process end to end: intake, drafting, negotiation, execution, and post-signature compliance. You will also build the templates, playbooks, and processes that allow Waabi to contract more efficiently as it scales.
You will...
Lead Waabi's commercial contracting function, managing agreements across the full portfolio: hardware supply chain, strategic partnerships, software licensing and SaaS, professional services, consulting, testing, NDAs, vendor contracts.
Structure, draft, and negotiate hardware supply chain agreements with Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.
Lead the legal work on strategic partnerships, including OEM and platform partnerships and corporate development engagements supporting robotaxi and autonomous truck adoption and use.
Advise engineering, supply chain, finance, and business development teams in plain language — translate contract risk into clear, actionable guidance that keeps deals on track.
Work directly alongside technical and business colleagues throughout negotiations — know what we're building and how the business works, know what's worth pushing back on, and help close deals efficiently.
Build and maintain a forms library — templates, fallback positions, and negotiation playbooks across contract types — so the company contracts more consistently and efficiently as it scales.
Own contract compliance company-wide, partnering with other functions to track and enforce obligations after signature.
Apply sound risk judgment across the portfolio — distinguish real exposure from noise.
Support additional legal workstreams as needed, including IP matters, open-source license review, regulatory questions touching commercial agreements, and data privacy issues arising from commercial deals.
Qualifications
- 8+ years of legal experience, with significant time in-house, handling complex commercial transactions in the automotive, hardware, or technology space.
Demonstrated depth in hardware supply chain agreements — you understand automotive supply chain practice, IP ownership and licensing structures, warranty and liability allocation, and quality and change-management terms.
Experience structuring and negotiating strategic partnerships or corp-dev-style agreements — OEM deals or similar transactions where the deal framework required building from scratch.
Effective communicator, with the ability to give legal advice in plain language. You make contract risk understandable to engineers, product managers, and finance leads, and you keep deals moving rather than creating delays.
Comfort working directly alongside technical and business teams throughout a deal — you engage with the substance, build trust as a partner, and help get agreements across the finish line.
Well-calibrated risk judgment — you know the difference between a real issue and a paper tiger, and you spend your credibility on the things that actually matter.
Experience building or maintaining a forms library, templates, or contracting playbooks, and the process instincts to make contracting more scalable without adding unnecessary overhead.
The range to handle any contract type independently, at any level of complexity or stakes, without handoffs.
- J.D. and active bar membership in a relevant jurisdiction (US or Canada).
In-house experience at an automotive OEM, Tier 1 supplier, or autonomous vehicle company
Familiarity with automotive supply standards (e.g., IATF, AIAG, APQP/PPAP)
Experience with applying AI tools to improve legal workflows and contracting efficiency
Familiarity with open-source licensing, export control, or data privacy issues in the AV or hardware space
Perks & Benefits
- Competitive compensation and equity awards.
- Health and Wellness benefits encompassing Medical, Dental and Vision coverage (for full-time employees only).
- Unlimited Vacation.
- Flexible hours and Work from Home support.
- Daily drinks, snacks and catered meals (when in office).
- Regularly scheduled team building activities and social events both on-site, off-site & virtually.
- As we grow, this list continues to evolve!
Skills Required
- 8+ years of legal experience, including significant in-house experience with complex commercial transactions in automotive, hardware, or technology
- Experience with hardware supply chain agreements, including automotive supply chain practices, IP ownership and licensing, warranty and liability allocation, and quality and change-management terms
- Experience structuring and negotiating strategic partnerships or corporate-development agreements, including OEM or similar transactions
- Ability to communicate legal advice clearly in plain language to engineering, product, and finance teams
- Experience working directly with technical and business teams throughout negotiations
- Strong risk judgment and ability to distinguish material exposure from minor issues
- Experience building or maintaining forms libraries, contract templates, or negotiation playbooks
- Ability to independently handle contract types of varying complexity and stakes
- J.D. and active bar membership in a relevant US or Canadian jurisdiction
- In-house experience at an automotive OEM, Tier 1 supplier, or autonomous vehicle company
- Familiarity with automotive supply standards such as IATF, AIAG, APQP, and PPAP
- Experience applying AI tools to improve legal workflows and contracting efficiency
- Familiarity with open-source licensing, export controls, or data privacy issues in the autonomous vehicle or hardware sector
What We Do
Waabi, founded by AI pioneer and visionary Raquel Urtasun, is an AI company building the next generation of self-driving technology. With a world class team and an innovative approach that unleashes the power of AI to “drive” safely in the real world, Waabi is bringing the promise of self-driving closer to commercialization than ever before. Waabi is backed by best-in-class investors across the technology, logistics and the Canadian innovation ecosystem, including Khosla Ventures, Uber, 8VC, Radical Ventures, OMERS Ventures and BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Venture Fund. To learn more visit: waabi.ai Press: [email protected] Business: [email protected]
