Senior Corporate Counsel

About Cerus:

Cerus aims to be the global leader and trusted partner of blood centers and hospitals whose technology, services, and commitment are the lifeblood of safe and accessible blood for patients around the world.

This is a hybrid role based out of our Concord, CA office.

Cerus is seeking an experienced Senior Corporate Counsel to serve as the primary legal partner for the Company’s pre-commercial functions, including Research & Development, clinical affairs, medical affairs, and related innovation initiatives.

Summary & Scope of Position:

This role will lead legal support for development-stage activities and associated agreements, while partnering closely with cross-functional stakeholders to proactively identify and manage legal and regulatory risk.  This role will also partner closely with the Chief Legal Officer to ensure alignment with the Company’s risk tolerance, governance framework, and strategic priorities.

The ideal candidate is a seasoned in-house attorney who exercises strong judgment, works efficiently and independently, and builds credibility quickly with scientific and business stakeholders. This individual should be comfortable owning matters end-to-end, and delivering business-oriented advice that reflects both legal rigor and pragmatic risk assessment.

Primary Legal Support – Pre-Commercial Functions

• Serve as primary legal advisor to R&D, clinical affairs, medical affairs, regulatory, and other innovation-focused teams.
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal guidance on product development initiatives, investigator-sponsored studies (IIS), clinical trials, research collaborations, and scientific partnerships.
• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of agreements, including:
• Clinical trial agreements
• Investigator-sponsored study agreements
• Research and development agreements
• Collaboration and joint development agreements
• Consulting agreements (including healthcare professionals)
• Confidentiality and data-sharing agreements
• Material transfer agreements
• Professional services agreements
• Advise on regulatory considerations impacting development-stage activities, including with healthcare professional engagement and data/privacy considerations.
• Identify and assess legal and regulatory risks early in program development and provide clear, practical options for mitigation.

Strategic Risk & Governance

• Provide timely, thoughtful, solutions-oriented advice balancing legal risk with business objectives.
• Develop and refine templates, playbooks, and scalable processes to support efficient contracting in development-stage activities.
• Support policy development and internal controls related to clinical research, R&D collaborations, and healthcare professional engagement.
• Escalate appropriately on matters involving significant regulatory, compliance, or reputational risk.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Build strong working relationships with scientific, clinical, regulatory, and executive stakeholders.
• Translate complex legal concepts into actionable guidance for non-legal teams in a clear and pragmatic manner.
• Operate as a trusted advisor capable of influencing outcomes and fostering confidence across the organization.
• Collaborate effectively with other members of the legal team to ensure consistent messaging and seamless handoffs when matters intersect.

Qualifications/Requirements/Skills: 

• J.D. from an accredited law school.
• 10 years of relevant legal experience, with demonstrated excellence in complex transactional drafting and negotiation and meaningful in-house experience in the medical device, biotech, or pharmaceutical industry.
• 3 years of experience in a major law firm corporate, technology transactions, or life sciences licensing practice group.
• Strong experience supporting R&D, clinical, and development-stage functions.
• Demonstrated expertise drafting and negotiating complex research, clinical, and collaboration agreements.
• Deep understanding of healthcare regulatory frameworks, including FDA regulations, Anti-Kickback Statute, False Claims Act, HIPAA/privacy laws, and related compliance considerations.
• Experience advising on healthcare professional engagement and clinical research compliance.
• Member in good standing of at least one U.S. state bar; ability to register as in-house counsel in California if required.

Critical Competencies

In addition to technical proficiency, a successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Ability to assess risk, prioritize appropriately, and make sound decisions aligned with leadership expectations.
• Quickly earns trust and confidence of senior leaders and technical experts.
• Comfortable managing a significant workload independently; knows when to escalate and when to resolve.
• Understands the lifecycle of a medical device product from development through commercialization and has the ability to translate legal risk into practical guidance.
• Delivers clear, actionable and pragmatic recommendations — not academic legal analysis.
• Navigates complex stakeholders with diplomacy and credibility.
• Comfortable operating in a lean legal department where partnership, transparency, and accountability are highly valued.
• High emotional intelligence and collaborative working style.
• Improves systems and templates to increase efficiency and reduce friction.

We understand that our people are essential to our success.  This philosophy is revealed in our competitive benefits package, designed to improve employees’ lives both on and off the job.

Benefits plans: medical, dental, vision, domestic partner benefits, paid maternity and paternity leaves, healthcare and dependent care flexible spending, life and accidental death insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, matching 401(k), RSUs

Work and family: EAP, legal and financial services, health club membership discounts, tuition reimbursement

Compensation: The base salary range for this position in the selected city is $221,000-287,000 annually. Base pay is one part of the total package to compensate and recognize employees for their work.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability.