General CounselThe Sei Development Foundation (SDF) is hiring a General Counsel — the first internal legal owner and the person who turns legal and compliance from a fragmented outside-counsel patchwork into a real, business-speed function. This is a leadership and execution role: you will personally draft contracts, negotiate deals, build the compliance program, and engage regulators while also setting the strategy that governs how legal supports the business.You'll start by building the templates, playbooks, and outside-counsel structure that let the function scale. Over time, you'll become the organizational owner of legal risk and the person leadership turns to before any high-stakes decision.
The right candidate has deep, hands-on experience building legal infrastructure for high-growth fintech, crypto, or financial-services businesses — whether in-house or as outside counsel at a top-tier firm.ResponsibilitiesLegal Ownership & ScopeOwn all legal, regulatory, and compliance functions across the foundation and its ecosystem activities, including non-profit compliance, contracts, grants, investments, partnerships, and policy workServe as the legal lead on token-related activities, including grants, investments, and structuring decisionsLead the transition of Blockchain Association and Digital Chamber policy work into SDF, including the structural and compliance implications of operating under non-profit statusHands-On ExecutionPersonally draft, negotiate, and execute contracts — vendor agreements, grant agreements, investment docs, partnership terms, and bespoke commercial arrangements — rather than routing everything through outside counselOwn marketing communications review across the organization, building a process that scales with the business and never becomes a bottleneckManage outside counsel relationships across multiple jurisdictions, with clear ownership of what stays in-house vs. what gets sent out, and disciplined oversight of spend against budgetCompliance & Regulatory StrategyBuild the compliance program from scratch — AML/sanctions controls, KYC frameworks where applicable, internal policies, and entity-level governanceOwn regulatory engagement strategy for digital asset and stablecoin developments, including proactive positioning with regulators rather than reactive responseApply US securities law, commodities regulation, and AML/sanctions frameworks to live questions about token operations, partnerships, and product launches in regulatory gray areasInfrastructure & Systems BuildingBuild a complete legal template library: contracts, grant agreements, vendor agreements, investment docs, and a comms-review framework that any team can self-serve againstRationalize outside counsel across jurisdictions — vet, consolidate, and manage spend with a clear framework for what justifies external supportStand up a risk register and reporting cadence so leadership has real, current visibility into legal exposureLeadership & Cross-Functional PartnershipAct as a strategic advisor to founders and leadership on corporate governance, token-related activities, partnerships, and high-stakes business decisionsTranslate complex legal concepts into clear, practical guidance for non-legal stakeholdersWhat We're Looking ForJ.D. from a top-tier law school and active bar membership in at least one US jurisdiction6+ years of legal experience in financial services, fintech, payments, or capital markets regulation, with deep working knowledge of US securities law, commodities regulation, and AML/sanctions frameworks — and their application to digital assetsProven track record of building or advising on legal and compliance infrastructure for high-growth companies — whether in-house or as outside counsel — with concrete examples of contracts, programs, and frameworks you personally built or ledHands-on executor: you personally draft, negotiate, and manage legal workflows, and you can point to specific contracts, programs, and policies you built yourselfExperience advising on complex financial products and equity or token structures, with the judgment to make fast calls on novel questionsExceptional communicator with a track record of translating complex legal concepts into clear, practical guidance for non-technical stakeholders, including C-suiteComfort working in a fast-moving, ambiguous environment where regulatory ground shifts and execution speed is a competitive advantageBonus PointsExperience at a top-tier law firm with a Web3, fintech, or capital markets practiceDirect experience with non-profit or foundation compliance, including grant frameworks and policy-association governanceExisting relationships with regulators, the Blockchain Association, the Digital Chamber, or other policy bodies in the digital asset space