General Counsel

📍 Location: Downtown Austin, TX - No Remote Candidates
💼 Type: Full-time
💰 Compensation: $225,000-300,000 + equity + premium benefits
At Files.com, Legal is not a back-office function or a necessary evil. It’s a leverage point. When this role is empty, deals slow down. When it’s done well, revenue accelerates, risk stays contained, and the business moves with confidence instead of fear.

We’re hiring a General Counsel to own that leverage.

This is not a role for someone who wants to review paper quietly from the sidelines. It’s a role for someone who wants to run the system, shape how deals get done, and protect the company while keeping growth moving fast.

If you believe great legal work is a competitive advantage—and that contracts should enable the business, not stall it—this role will feel like home.

Who We Are

We’re Files.com, a profitable, founder-led SaaS company powering secure file transfer and automation for 4,000+ brands you know: Marc Jacobs, GrubHub, Michelin, Hot Topic, Stamps.com, Planet Fitness, KFC, and more.

We’ve built a $35M+ business with just 70 people by hiring smart, disciplined, and high-output teammates who act fast and own outcomes. Backed by $46.5M from Riverwood Capital, we’re scaling intentionally — and this role is a critical piece of that growth.

Our offices is brand-new space in the heart of downtown, surrounded by energy, culture, and some of the best food and nightlife in Texas. Free breakfast daily, plenty of room to collaborate, and the vibrancy of Austin right outside the door.

Twice a year, we bring the whole team together for energizing off-sites in cities like New Orleans, Nashville, and Miami.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Customer Contract Negotiations End-to-End: Draft, review, and negotiate MSAs, DPAs, security addenda, renewals, and amendments. Run negotiations directly with customer counsel and procurement—including live calls—with the goal of closing deals quickly without taking on excessive risk.
• Build And Maintain A Scalable Contract System: Own templates, clause libraries, fallback positions, and negotiation playbooks. Standardize aggressively so routine deals move fast and Legal time is spent on exceptions—not repetitive redlines.
• Make High-Quality Risk Decisions And Escalate Early: Evaluate legal, regulatory, and reputational risk with sound judgment. Surface material issues clearly and early so leadership can make informed decisions. Say the hard thing when it needs to be said.
• Partner Closely On Privacy, Data Protection, And Trust: Work with the CISO and Security team on privacy frameworks, customer trust commitments, and incident response. Ensure Files.com’s legal posture reflects how the platform actually operates.
• Own Legal Operations And Drive Automation: Implement systems for contract routing, approvals, tracking, and storage. Use AI and automation to accelerate review and reduce manual work—without compromising accuracy or judgment.
• Manage Outside Counsel Strategically: Select, engage, and actively manage outside counsel for M&A, employment matters, litigation, and specialized issues. Keep work focused, costs controlled, and timelines aligned with the business.
• Support Governance, Compliance, And Company Hygiene: Maintain compliance across corporate governance, employment, privacy, and regulatory obligations. Build processes that scale and hold up under audit, diligence, or dispute.
• Oversee Open Source License Compliance: Maintain visibility into open source usage across the product. Review licenses, assess risk, and partner with Engineering to establish clear approval and documentation processes.
• Communicate Clearly And Enable The Organization: Translate legal complexity into plain English. Educate Sales, Product, Engineering, Finance, and HR so teams can move faster with fewer escalations.

What Makes This Role Different

• You’ll Run The System, Not Just Review The Paper: You won’t spend your days reacting to inbox chaos. You’ll design and own the frameworks that make Legal work: templates, clause libraries, fallback positions, playbooks, and automated workflows. The goal is Legal that’s fast, predictable, and scalable by design.
• You’ll Have Real Authority And Real Trust: This isn’t a company that hires a GC and then works around them. Legal is trusted to exercise independent judgment, escalate real risk early, and make clear recommendations. You’ll be expected to speak plainly, make calls, and protect the business—with leadership that backs you.
• We Believe In Holding The Line When It Matters: Many legal roles quietly train you to give ground by default. We don’t. Files.com believes in protecting the business and holding firm when the risk isn’t justified—not saying “no” for sport, but not giving away leverage just to keep the peace.
• We Believe In Fighting When We’re Right: Most companies settle disputes just to make them disappear. We don’t. When we believe we’re in the clear, we invest in defending the company. That posture builds credibility, deters future threats, and protects long-term value. Legal strategy actually matters here.
• This Is A Modern Legal Role: We expect Legal to use AI responsibly, automate routine review, and continuously reduce friction. The goal isn’t to replace judgment—it’s to free Legal to focus on decisions that actually matter. If you want to modernize how legal work gets done, this role gives you room to do it.

Who Thrives In This Role

• ✅ You’re comfortable with conflict—but not reckless
• ✅ You can say “no” without killing momentum
• ✅ You think in systems, not one-off fixes
• ✅ You like getting on the phone to move things forward
• ✅ You balance risk thoughtfully instead of defaulting to fear
• ✅ You want authority, accountability, and real impact
• ✅ You have B2B SaaS experience and know how enterprise deals actually work

Perks & Benefits

• 🩺 100% Paid Health, Dental & Vision (75% for family)
• 💸 401(k) with 4% Company Match
• 📈 Equity Grants for Every Employee
• 🍼 Paid Parental Leave
• 🌴 20 PTO Days + 11 Holidays + Full Company Winter Break
• 💰 $1,000 Signing Bonus + Modern Apple Laptop + Anniversary Gifts
• 🍳 Free catered breakfast every day in both Scottsdale and Austin offices
• ✈️ Team Travel to NYC, Austin, Nashville, Miami, and more

Bottom Line

This is not a “keep us out of trouble” legal role.

It’s a build-the-machine, protect-the-business, keep-revenue-moving role.

If you want to do serious legal work, have real authority, and shape how an enterprise software company operates at scale—this is a rare opportunity to do the