What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Legal Counsel position at Aquis Search?
Job title: Senior Counsel, Commercial
Location: Austin, Texas (Hybrid, 3 days in office)
Employment type: Full-time
Seniority level: Mid-Senior level
Industry: Semiconductors / Legal Services
About the role
Aquis Search is partnering with a global semiconductor leader to hire a Senior Counsel into their US Commercial Legal team in Austin. This is a high-visibility seat embedded with one of the company's fastest-growing business lines, where software licensing sits at the heart of the work.
The lawyer will operate as a true business partner to senior commercial leadership, owning complex transactions end to end and helping shape licensing strategy as the business evolves.
This is an individual contributor role today, reporting into a Vice President of Commercial Legal, with a credible path to team leadership as the business scales.
What you'll do
- Independently lead and negotiate complex commercial agreements with customers and suppliers
- Advise on software licensing, product sales, claims, and purchasing matters
- Help shape software licensing strategy, including new licensing models and evolving customer use cases
- Partner with senior business stakeholders on high-value, time-critical transactions
- Collaborate with legal and business teams across the US, Europe, and Asia
What we're looking for
- 10 to 15 years PQE
- US qualified, admitted in any state
- Strong software licensing experience is essential, SaaS lawyers welcome
- Demonstrable customer-facing commercial experience
- Maturity to operate with senior internal stakeholders, including business GMs
- Stability across prior roles
- Semiconductor or tech hardware exposure is a plus, not essential
Why this role
- Embed directly with the business you support, real influence on commercial outcomes
- Software licensing is the most sophisticated work on the team's docket, not an afterthought
- Calm, dependable legal culture, no theatrics
- Path to manage a team as the business line scales
To apply
Please apply via LinkedIn or reach out directly to Karan Sharma, Partner at Aquis Search, on karansharma@aquissearch.com for a confidential conversation.