Senior Legal Counsel - Subscriptions & Marketing

Hi, we're DuckDuckGo, the online protection company and remote-first team of 300+ on a mission to raise the standard of trust online. Founded in 2008 and profitable since 2014, annual revenue now exceeds $100m USD and millions use our browser on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android, our search engine, and the latest — Privacy Pro. Our culture of trust, inclusivity, and empowered project management underpins everything we do, where each team member takes full ownership of their projects, from scoping and execution to postmortem. If you're seeking end-to-end ownership of your work — you've come to the right place!

Working on the Law & Policy team, you'll serve as the dedicated legal expert for DuckDuckGo's subscription offering, ensuring we remain compliant across a growing range of global jurisdictions while enabling the business to move fast with confidence. You'll play a role in enabling DuckDuckGo’s subscription growth internationally by navigating the complex legal requirements that come with launching in new markets. You'll also be the go-to legal partner for our marketing team, advising on the full range of advertising and marketing law issues that arise in a fast-moving, creative environment. Alongside work closely with product, engineering, marketing, and finance teams to embed legal thinking into day-to-day decisions, and work on related projects.

Recent projects include:

1. Building out the subscription legal framework to track and operationalize evolving requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

2. Reviewing and advising on in-product notices, terms of service, and marketing materials for the DuckDuckGo Subscription.

3. Analyzing legal requirements for online payments, free trials, promotions, and multi-jurisdiction auto renewal notices.

4. Advising on marketing and advertising law across a wide range of campaigns, formats, and channels.

As a Senior Legal Counsel, you'll own all subscription and marketing legal matters end-to-end, from early ideation through to launch, acting as a true partner to the business rather than a downstream reviewer.

1. At least 7 years of legal experience, with in-house experience preferred.

2. Experience advising on advertising and marketing law and/or subscription services, consumer-facing software products, or e-commerce, including drafting terms of service.

3. Proven experience working autonomously to proactively track evolving legal requirements across jurisdictions, serving as both a cross-functional partner and hands-on implementer.

4. Able to translate legal advice into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyers.

5. Strong time management and prioritization skills in a fast-paced, remote-first setting.

6. J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school and membership in good standing in one U.S. state bar.

$178,500 USD annually and stock options. Compensation is identical within professional levels, regardless of geographic location or team. Compensation for each professional level is transparent across the organization.

Eligibility for company-sponsored health benefits is limited to team members based in the United States. This program does not extend to team members located in other countries, such as Canada or the UK.

Our Team Member Support Guide explains how we prioritize your wellbeing including paid parental leave, office setup, and co-working allowances.

Hiring works best when it's a two-way street. Learn how we help you get to know DuckDuckGo, envision your future role here, and find out more about how we hire.

DuckDuckGo provides equal work opportunities to all team members and applicants, and it prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, caste, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by our policies or federal, state, or local laws.

We want to ensure that our hiring process is accessible. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application process because of a medical condition or disability, please send an email to [email protected] to let us know the nature of your request.

1. You’ll be required to attend meetings on camera via video conferencing

2. Expect to travel at least two times a year: once for our all-hands meetup and again for a team retreat (each around 4-5 days). While extenuating circumstances may impact attendance, everyone is strongly encouraged to attend.

3. While we offer a flexible work arrangement with no core hours, expect an average full-time commitment of 40 hours per week.

4. A successful candidate must pass a background check as a condition of joining the team.

5. By applying for this role, you confirm that all information submitted is accurate and complete. You further acknowledge that providing false or fraudulent information during the application process is cause for denial of an offer, revocation of any existing offer, or other adverse action, up to and including termination after the start of your commencement of work.

As part of our commitment to enhancing our recruitment process, we utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to assist in reviewing and summarizing job applications and test projects, including those tools integrated into our recruitment vendor platforms. We use AI to flag potentially fraudulent applications, analyze and summarize applicants’ experience, interviews, and project performance, and help streamline our selection process.

Key Principles:

1. Data Privacy: All information provided in your application will be handled in accordance with our Recruiting Privacy Policy. We ensure that your personal information is protected and used solely for recruitment purposes.

2. Human Oversight and Accountability: The AI technology is designed to support our hiring team by providing insights and summaries of applications and evaluations of test projects against scoring rubrics. All final evaluations and hiring decisions, however, will be made by our hiring team, who will consider the AI's input alongside other factors.

3. Transparency: We believe in transparency regarding our hiring practices. If you have any questions about how AI is used in our recruitment process, please feel free to reach out to us.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge and consent to the use of AI technology in our review process. If you would like to request an alternative selection process, please contact us as at [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in joining DuckDuckGo!