Legal Counsel (Commercial)

About the role

Founded in 2017, Wayve is the leading developer of Embodied AI technology. Our advanced AI software and foundation models enable vehicles to perceive, understand, and navigate any complex environment, enhancing the usability and safety of automated driving systems. Our vision is to create autonomy that propels the world forward. Our intelligent, mapless, and hardware-agnostic AI products are designed for automakers, accelerating the transition from assisted to automated driving. In our fast-paced environment big problems ignite us-we embrace uncertainty, leaning into complex challenges to unlock groundbreaking solutions. We aim high and stay humble in our pursuit of excellence, constantly learning and evolving as we pave the way for a smarter, safer future. At Wayve, your contributions matter. We value diversity, embrace new perspectives, and foster an inclusive work environment; we back each other to deliver impact. Make Wayve the experience that defines your career! 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.

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 part

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