Counsel, Employment

About the role

Ready to do the most impactful work of your career? At Coinbase, we are uncompromising on our mission to increase economic freedom. The bar is high, the environment is intense, and we like it that way. This isn't a place for complacency, it's a place to be pushed past your perceived limits. If you're ready to build the future of finance alongside people who refuse to settle for "good enough," you belong here. Coinbase is a remote-first, but not remote-only company. Expect to get together quarterly for intense in-person working sessions called "surges." learn more about working at Coinbase.

As Employment Counsel on the Employment Legal team, you'll provide day-to-day employment law counseling and compliance support across Coinbase's global workforce of approximately 5,000 employees in 20+ countries. This team owns all aspects of global employment legal, from people relations counseling and employment agreements to HR compliance, employment litigation, and the emerging intersection of AI and employment law.

You'll independently manage a counseling portfolio covering performance management, disciplinary matters, and exits while supporting employment agreements, HR compliance, and AI tool deployment compliance for the People team.

What you'll do

• Own a people relations counseling portfolio, providing first-line legal support on performance management, disciplinary processes, accommodations, policy questions, and exits across the full company.
• Advise on international employment matters across our 20+ country footprint, partnering with outside local counsel and HR on cross-border questions, country expansions, and EMEA and APAC employee issues.
• Support employment agreement workflows, including offer letter review, standard separation agreements, transfer letters, and relocation agreements, working from established templates and escalating complex matters.
• Drive tactical compliance support for the People team's deployment of AI tools in recruiting and HR, reviewing specific tool deployments against Coinbase's AI employment law compliance framework, advising on bias audit obligations, and drafting required notices and disclosures.
• Partner with the People team on HR compliance matters, including EEO-1 reporting, OFCCP obligations, and pay equity compliance, contributing to the team's global compliance program as it expands in scope.
• Support employment litigation and administrative proceedings, including drafting EEOC position statements, coordinating with outside counsel, managing litigation holds, and assisting with discovery on active matters.
• Track employment law developments and turn them into practical guidance for HR partners.

Required Skills and Experience

• J.D. with active U.S. state bar membership and 5+ years of employment law experience, including meaningful in-house experience advising HR business partners on the full range of employment matters.
• Strong U.S. advice-and-counsel experience across performance management, terminations, accommodations and leaves. Experience with hourly or customer experience populations is a plus. Experience counseling on international employment matters is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with employment litigation and administrative charges, including position statements, discovery, litigation holds and outside counsel coordination.
• Working knowledge of U.S. HR compliance requirements (EEO-1 reporting, OFCCP, pay equity) and demonstrated engagement with the emerging AI and employment law regulatory landscape.
• Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.

Pay and benefits

Pay Transparency Notice: Base salary varies by location (see range below). Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility, and benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k)).

Annual base salary range (excluding equity and bonus)

$183,855—$216,300 USD

• Application Limit: Candidates may submit a maximum of 3 applications within a 6-month period.
• Equal Opportunity Employer: Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information. Applicants with criminal histories will be considered consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
• US Applicants: View Employee Rights, Know Your Rights, and E-Verify Notice of Participation.
• Accommodations: If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reasonable accommodation, email us your request and contact info at accommodations[at]coinbase.com. Need screen reading technology? Click here to download a free compatible screen reader and view the tutorial.
• Data Privacy & Arbitration: By submitting your application, you agree to our Candidate Privacy Notice. US applicants: By submitting your application, you agree to Arbitration of Disputes.