Legal Counsel (Commercial)
Wayve · Sunnyvale, California USA
- On site
- Fulltime
- Sunnyvale, California USA
Email the hiring manager to get a response.
Get their verified email + an intro that's ready to send.
Subject: Interested in the Legal Counsel (Commercial) role at Wayve
Hi Avery — I came across the Legal Counsel (Commercial) opening and wanted to reach out directly. I've spent the last few years doing exactly this kind of work, and Wayve stood out because…
✎ Personalized to your résumé after sign-up.
- ✓ Verified email of the hiring manager
- ✓ Intro email personalized to your résumé
- ✓ $9/mo = unlimited — any job link
Secure checkout · cancel anytime
About the role
The Role
Wayve is looking for a Commercial Counsel based in Sunnyvale, California to support a broad range of commercial matters across the business. This is a mid-level position that will play a critical role in shaping Wayve’s commercial legal function in the United States as we scale globally and bring embodied AI technology into real-world deployment.
This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-moving, technology-driven environments and enjoys working at the intersection of commercial contracting, product innovation, and operational scale. While experience in autonomous vehicles, robotics, automotive, or AI would be valuable, it is not essential. We are more interested in candidates with strong foundational commercial skills, sound judgement, and a proven ability to navigate complex contractual landscapes within technology, mobility, or other highly regulated industries.
We are looking for a proactive, commercially minded self-starter who is comfortable operating independently, building scalable processes and frameworks, and partnering closely with senior stakeholders across the business. This role will have significant exposure to cross-border matters and will work closely with commercial, procurement, engineering, product, finance, privacy, and operational teams as the company continues to expand internationally.
Key responsibilities:
This role will support the legal and leadership teams on a wide range of commercial matters, including:
Advising the business on a broad range of commercial matters, with a primary focus on global procurement, supply chain, technology, and vendor management, as well as general US commercial work
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements, including procurement, supplier, services, software/SaaS, data, licensing, consulting, and other operational contracts
Supporting large, complex strategic transactions involving OEM partnerships and Tier 1 suppliers, including development, proofs of concept, integration, deployment, production, and related commercial arrangements
Advising on product, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy, and general corporate matters on an ad hoc basis, in partnership with other members of the Legal Team and external counsel where required
Partnering closely with engineering, procurement, finance, privacy, communications, commercial, and operational teams to provide practical and commercially focused legal advice
Helping to develop scalable processes, templates, playbooks, and governance structures to support Wayve’s growth and contracting volume
Managing external counsel and coordinating cross-border legal advice where required
Supporting strategic initiatives, market expansion, and new product deployments from a commercial legal perspective
Helping to build and shape Wayve’s broader US commercial legal capability as the team grows
Educating and enabling the business on commercial risk, contracting best practices, and legal process matters
About you
In order to set you up for success as a Commercial Counsel at Wayve, we’re looking for the following skills and experience.
Essential
Licensed attorney admitted to practice in California
3+ years of relevant legal experience, with a minimum of 2 years of law firm experience and some in-house experience (preferably at a high-growth B2B tech or AI company)
Strong experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements, including procurement, supply chain, technology, and vendor contracts
Experience supporting strategic commercial transactions and working closely with business stakeholders in fast-moving, technology-driven environments
Excellent legal analysis, pragmatic communication, and stakeholder management skills
Strong commercial judgment and ability to assess legal risk in the context of broader business objectives
Ability to work autonomously, take initiative, and operate effectively in a fast-paced and evolving environment
Experience partnering cross-functionally with senior business stakeholders
Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams simultaneously
Interest in helping to build and scale Wayve’s US commercial legal capability
Desirable
Experience in one or more of the following areas will be a major plus:
Commercial or product counseling experience within the automotive, mobility, or broader technology sector, particularly at an OEM, Tier 1 supplier, or similarly complex engineering-led organization
Experience supporting OEM, strategic partnership, or other large-scale B2B transactions involving hardware, software, data, or integrated technology solutions
Familiarity with procurement, supply chain, manufacturing, logistics, or other operational contracting matters in a global business
Exposure to autonomous vehicle, AI, product, data privacy, intellectual property, or marketing legal issues
Cross-border commercial advisory experience across the US, the UK, Europe, Asia, or other international markets
Experience helping to establish or scale legal processes, templates, or commercial legal functions within growing businesses
This is a full-time role based in our office in Sunnyvale, California. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds, so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.
Pay Transparency Disclosure
If based in Wayve’s Sunnyvale office, this role has the annual base salary range stated below.
Job level and actual compensation will be decided based on factors including, but not limited to, individual qualifications objectively assessed during the interview process (including skills and prior relevant experience, potential impact, and scope of role), market demands, and specific work location. The listed range is a guideline, and the range for this role may be modified. For roles that are available to be filled remotely, the pay range is localized according to employee work location by a factor of between 80% and 100% of range. Please discuss your specific work location with your recruiter for more information.
Annual Base Salary Range:
$120,000 - $160,000 USD
This is a full-time role based in our office in Sunnyvale. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.