Director, Legal Operations

Building the Future of Crypto at Kraken

Our Krakenites are a world-class team with crypto conviction, united by our desire to discover and unlock the potential of crypto and blockchain technology. Kraken is a mission-focused company rooted in crypto values, aiming to accelerate the global adoption of crypto for financial freedom and inclusion. For over a decade, our focus on mission and crypto ethos has attracted many of the most talented crypto experts worldwide. We encourage all candidates to familiarize themselves with the Kraken Culture page and the Kraken app before applying.

As a fully remote company, Kraken has team members in 70+ countries who speak over 50 languages. Our Krakenites are industry pioneers who develop premium crypto products for experienced traders, institutions, and newcomers, committed to industry-leading security, crypto education, and world-class client support through products like Kraken Pro, Desktop, Wallet, and Kraken Futures. Become a Krakenite and build the future of crypto!

The Team

The Director, Legal Operations will serve as the centralized owner for Legal’s operations, technology, data, and execution. This role is the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) for Legal AI strategy and implementation, partnering closely with Engineering, Product, Security, Finance, and other stakeholders to modernize and scale Kraken’s legal function. As Kraken’s regulatory footprint and business complexity grow, this leader will own operational strategy, tooling, process design, and metrics—driving automation, AI adoption, workflow standardization, and vendor optimization. This role ensures Legal operates as a strategic, data-driven partner to the business rather than a reactive cost center.

This leader will also be responsible for Legal’s financial, resourcing, and demand management foundations—ensuring the right work is done by the right resource at the right cost, with predictable outcomes as the organization scales.

The Opportunity

• Serve as the DRI for Legal Operations, Legal Technology, and Legal AI strategy, execution, and governance, ensuring scalable, compliant, and high-impact delivery.
• Own and evolve Legal’s operating model, identifying inefficiencies and driving scale across workflows, processes, resourcing, service delivery, and automation.
• Partner with the CLO and Finance on Legal budgeting, forecasting, accruals, and long-range cost modeling to ensure spend predictability and alignment with business growth.
• Lead legal resourcing, capacity planning, and vendor management, including headcount modeling, role design, make/buy/automate decisions, legal billing, and outside counsel oversight.
• Manage and govern Legal’s full technology stack (CLM, matter management, intake, spend, knowledge management, and AI tools), preventing tool sprawl through standardization and compliance.
• Design, implement, and scale Legal intake, triage, demand-management, and AI-enabled workflows, moving from experimentation to secure, enterprise-grade deployment.
• Establish metrics, dashboards, and operational controls to provide visibility into legal demand, workload, spend, efficiency, risk, outcomes, and audit readiness.
• Act as a force multiplier for Legal by enabling attorneys to focus on high-value judgment, strategy, and advisory work through process, technology, and AI enablement.

Skills You Should HODL

• 10+ years of experience across Legal Operations, legal technology, process design, and finance-adjacent operational leadership in scaled, regulated, or technology-driven organizations.
• Proven track record owning and scaling legal operations, legal tech, and financial management in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
• Demonstrated leadership driving automation and AI initiatives end-to-end, from strategy and governance through secure enterprise deployment, adoption, and ROI measurement.
• Deep understanding of core legal workflows (contracts, regulatory, investigations, litigation, intake, outside counsel) with the ability to redesign inefficient end-to-end processes.
• Hands-on experience owning and optimizing legal technology platforms, including CLM, matter management, intake, spend management, knowledge management, and AI-enabled tools.
• Ability to translate Legal requirements into clear technical roadmaps and executable operational plans.
• Experience building metrics, dashboards, controls, and OKRs to measure performance, cost, risk, efficiency, and outcomes.
• Strong executive communication and influence skills, with comfort operating in ambiguity and leading transformation in fast-moving, high-growth environments.

Nice to Haves

• Experience in fintech, crypto, financial services, or other highly regulated industries.
• Background in enterprise AI governance, model risk management, or secure deployment of AI systems.
• Prior people management experience within Legal Operations or adjacent operational functions.
• Experience benchmarking Legal Operations practices, tooling, and cost structures against peer companies or industry standards (e.g., CLOC frameworks).

Key Skills/Competency

• Legal Operations
• Legal Technology
• AI Strategy
• Process Design
• Financial Management
• Vendor Management
• Automation
• Data Analytics
• Workflow Optimization
• Governance