Counsel, Product

About Carvana

If you like disrupting the norm and are looking to join a company revolutionizing an industry, then you will LOVE what Carvana has done for the car buying experience. Buying a car the old fashioned way sucks and we are working hard to make it NOT suck. I mean, have you seen our vending machine?! We are looking for people who are excited to thrive in an environment of impactful change. Team spirit is evident at Carvana and every day we let our passions and creativity foster innovation. We take big swings, set ambitious goals, and challenge each other to make data- and process-driven decisions in everything we do. Here are a few of our stories! We’ve been changing the game since 2013, and we’re not taking our foot off the gas now. Want more of the story? Check out our background here. 

About the team and position

Join Carvana’s Legal Department in the role of Counsel, Product. Carvana is looking for a capable and motivated attorney to provide pragmatic and innovative advice, supporting legal and business stakeholders with various projects and assignments involving a variety of product teams, solutions groups, and strategic business initiatives. You will work closely with legal, product, and technology partners on various strategic and day-to-day matters involving the development, release, and maintenance of Carvana offerings and business units. You will support the introduction of new solutions and marketplaces, ensure production readiness, help build scalable compliance strategies, take ownership of multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, and address all needs involving your assigned product(s) and team(s). As a key supporting member of the product counsel team, you will support the provision of legal services to teams within our organization while developing your role, increasing your substantive and practical knowledge, and forging relationships with partners within and outside of the legal group. 

What you’ll be doing

• Provide quick and innovative support to legal colleagues involving a wide variety of complex questions.
• Work closely with product and development team members, including product managers, developers/engineers, data scientists, technical writers and brand and marketing managers.
• Assist with the provision of full product counseling, from initial stages of product conception and development, through post-launch maintenance and refinement.
• Support designated business units with any and all legal questions and issues that may arise.
• Foster a self-driven approach, independently issue spotting and working with appropriate internal and external legal experts, to generate risk-based guidance and counseling tailored to business capabilities and goals.
• Develop an acute understanding of business processes, including business partner goals, priorities and dependencies/constraints, and leverage this understanding to assist with cross-functional solutioning and collaboration across Carvana’s vertical and horizontal teams. 
• Obtain an intricate understanding of the ins and outs of the product offerings and combine the deep knowledge with legal research to provide well thought out legal analyses to questions involving risk. 
• Partner with legal SMEs to develop impactful products with a focus on optimizing for Carvana risks in areas such as consumer finance, intellectual property, data privacy & security, commercial contracting, corporate reporting, marketing, litigation, employment, and/or other legal and regulatory compliance issues.
• Develop positive, strong, and collaborative relationships with cross-functional partners across Carvana to effectively deliver on complex tasks.
• Contribute to an analysis of applicable statutes, regulations, and case law.
• Assist with drafting of consumer disclosures, notices, consents, and/or terms of use, with an eye toward clarity, brevity and transparency, all in alignment with brand values.
• Contribute to the development of Carvana’s product counseling legal team.
• Other duties as assigned.

What you should know/have

The successful Counsel, Product possesses and exemplifies excellent judgment, critical and quick thinking, and an eagerness to understand business priorities and objectives; maintains a strong work ethic and a high degree of accountability, striving for perfection in his or her work; and works collaboratively and proactively with legal and non-legal counterparts to provide pragmatic and effective legal solutions to achieve business objectives while mitigating risks and contemplating business context. You should feel comfortable working amidst ambiguity, developing and navigating priorities and daily work in collaboration with your manager and colleagues, as well as collaboratively and flexibly with stakeholders in a fast-paced, cutting edge, and constantly evolving environment, adapting your approach and demeanor to match shifting demands of different situations. You should feel comfortable supporting cross-functional, complex projects throughout the organization with legal and non-legal colleagues at all levels of seniority, and prioritizing your work based upon dynamic workflow and timelines. You should possess superior communication skills (oral and written), approach problems with a sense of humor and humility, and desire to build trusted relationships both within and outside the organization. Success requires a highly collaborative nature, ownership and accountability over your own work, proactiveness, strong organizational skills, effective prioritization, confidence, helpfulness, experience, diligence, and a passion to learn about new business ventures, emerging technologies, and the ability to scrutinize and think creatively in the face of new legal risks in unchartered territories. You seek to develop keen legal and business judgment, with a desire to become a strong legal generalist and learn new areas of law and related skills quickly and efficiently. You have a keen understanding of how to use legal resources effectively; strategizing and executing your work efficiently to meet business goals and objectives. You are dependable and supportive of your legal and business colleagues and go out of your way to seek opportunities to contribute, regardless of whether they are in or out of scope of your areas of expertise and are able to articulate your work and understanding of the law and facts succinctly and clearly. You build from the ground up, and never spot an issue without offering pragmatic solutions.

 We also look for:

• A JD and an active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• 3+ years of experience providing legal support to technology businesses at a firm and/or within a corporate legal department setting, although we will consider varying levels of legal experience combined with business/industry knowledge.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills.
• Consistent good judgment and ability to apply legal knowledge to help create practical business solutions.
• Familiarity with, or an interest in: automotive industry, technology, e-commerce, consumer finance, intellectual property, information and product security, online payment regulations, and/or data privacy preferred.
• Understanding of core product principles over the course of an entire product life cycle and ability to convey intricate details to legal partners to effectively identify and mitigate risk. 
• Ability to assist those leading projects involving many cross-functional partners.
• Demonstrated business acumen, strong analytical skills, and the ability to grasp important business, legal, and financial issues facing the company.
• Ability to research and respond promptly to a wide range of legal requests, summarizing and communicating legal concepts that business stakeholders can understand and act upon.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tight deadlines in a frequently high-paced environment. 
• Inquisitive nature and comfort challenging current practices.

We’d be thrilled if you also have: 

• Experience advising tech companies in the areas of state and federal auto dealer, marketing, consumer finance, consumer protection, and data privacy/cybersecurity regulations and best practices.
• Background in strategizing, advising on, and helping to launch multiple products or refining features of a product.
• Automotive and/or financial services industry experience.
• Project management experience and familiarity with various project management tools. 
• Experience with process improvement.

What we’ll offer in return

• Full-time salary position with a competitive salary.
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401K with company match.
• A multitude of perks including student loan payments, discounts on vehicles, benefits for your pets, and much more.
• A great wellness program to keep you healthy and happy both physically and mentally.
• Access to opportunities to expand your skill set and share your knowledge with others across the organization.
• A company culture of promotions from within, with a start-up atmosphere allowing for varied career development.
• A seat in one of the fastest-growing companies in the country.

Other requirements

To be able to do your job at Carvana, there are some basic requirements we want to share with you: Must be able to read, write, speak and understand English.

Of course, we’ll make any reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their jobs. 

Legal stuff

Hiring is contingent on passing a complete background check. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Carvana is an equal employment opportunity employer. All applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. Carvana also prohibits harassment of applicants or employees based on any of these protected categories.

Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.