General Counsel @ Early-Stage Blockchain Startup

About the company:

Matter Labs is scaling Ethereum with zero-knowledge proofs to accelerate public blockchain adoption. The company started out of scientific curiosity, the joy of engineering, and a deep conviction, the most impactful way to improve the world today is to provide an open and free alternative to its existing, deeply flawed financial system. The company was founded in 2018 with its head office in Berlin, Germany. zkSync [their Layer 2 protocol] has been in production since Summer 2020, with growing usage. It makes crypto payments cheaper today, and it will soon be used to scale arbitrary smart contracts — imagine Solidity in a ZK rollup! Everything Matter Labs build is open source.

About the Role:

As General Counsel, you'll be responsible for overseeing the legal and regulatory function at a company at the forefront of blockchain innovation. This role has a strong regulatory component, and you'll need to be agile and creative while dealing with regulatory bodies.

Responsibilities:

Work with the founders and senior executives of the company to manage the growth and strategy of the company, focusing on the international, federal and state regulatory compliance requirements that apply to the company's services Define and develop internal policies, procedures and programs, providing counsel and guidance on matters that directly impact the entire organization. Oversee various aspects of the company’s intellectual property protection. Negotiate commercial transactions on behalf of the company. Represent the company before national and international regulators as well as at industry events. Oversee in collaboration with senior management the selection, retention, management and evaluation of all outside counsel. Advise on legal aspects of the company’s financing structure, including assessing and advising on current and future requirements. Work with senior leadership as well as colleagues at peer institutions to develop industry frameworks and standards. Build out the legal team as the company grows.