Sr. Lead Counsel, Labor & Employment

The Employment Law Team at Pinterest provides strategic, practical counsel to the People Team and business leaders on workforce decisions across the employee lifecycle. We are looking for an experienced Senior Lead Counsel with a strong background in advising on complex employment matters to join our team. The position will serve as a trusted legal partner to the People Team and business leaders across Pinterest, helping navigate matters ranging from recruiting and organizational change to employee relations, compensation, benefits, and contingent workforces. This role will play an important part in enabling business objectives, managing legal and reputational risk, supporting Pinterest's values and culture, and helping build scalable policies and processes for a global workforce.

What you'll do:

• Serve as a trusted senior advisor to executives, People Team leaders, and cross-functional stakeholders on complex employment matters, such as workforce strategy, organizational change, global mobility, employee relations, accommodations, leaves, classification, and contingent workforces.
• Independently assess complex and ambiguous legal and business risks, synthesize competing considerations, and provide decisive, practical recommendations aligned with Pinterest’s objectives.
• Lead the development and implementation of employment-related agreements, policies, guidelines, and other legal documents and operating practices.
• Develop and lead complex, cross-functional employment-law initiatives, including compliance programs, policy rollouts, process improvements, training, and other strategic People Team priorities.
• Partner with senior stakeholders to identify emerging risks, set priorities, secure resources, and drive alignment and accountability across interconnected workstreams.
• Manage significant employment disputes, litigation, agency investigations, and regulatory matters; develop practical resolution strategies that balance legal, business, employee-experience, and reputational considerations.
• Manage outside counsel relationships, budgets, and legal work to budget, maintaining appropriate quality, efficiency, and strategic oversight.
• Monitor developments in employment law and translate them into clear, actionable guidance, policies, training, and scalable business practices.
• Act as an AI-forward legal partner by identifying responsible opportunities to use AI to improve legal research, risk spotting, workflow efficiency, knowledge management, and service delivery, while applying sound judgment regarding confidentiality, accuracy, bias, transparency, and human oversight.

What we're looking for:

• JD and active bar admission, with a minimum of 10 years of experience handling complex employment matters in a law firm or in-house environment; California or New York bar admission preferred.
• In-house experience in a fast-paced organization is preferred.
• Deep knowledge of U.S. employment law and experience advising senior business and People leaders on high-impact, complex matters.
• Exceptional judgment and decision-making skills, including the ability to assess ambiguity, balance competing considerations, and make timely recommendations.
• Excellent communication and executive-influence skills, with the ability to explain complex legal issues clearly and build trusted partnerships.
• Proven ability to independently lead complex, cross-functional initiatives and drive alignment and accountability across stakeholders.
• Strong experience negotiating and managing employment litigation, agency investigations, regulatory matters, and outside counsel relationships.
• AI-forward mindset, including the ability to evaluate and responsibly apply AI tools to legal work and scaling efficiency.
• Impeccable integrity, discretion, resilience, and commitment to an inclusive environment.

Relocation Statement:

• This position is not eligible for relocation assistance. Visit our PinFlex page to learn more about our working model.

In-Office Requirement Statement

• We recognize that the ideal environment for work is situational and may differ across departments. What this looks like day-to-day can vary based on the needs of each organization or role.
• This role will need to be in the office for in-person collaboration approximately 1-3 times per year and therefore can be situated anywhere in the country.

Originally posted on Himalayas