What are the responsibilities and job description for the Associate Corporate Counsel (Contract) position at Mercedes-Benz R&D North America?
We are seeking a highly motivated Associate Corporate Counsel with 0-2 years of experience to provide comprehensive legal support across various areas, including commercial contracts/tech transactions, data privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), compliance, product, vehicle operations, litigation, procurement, employment, and operations. This role requires an individual who can balance legal expertise with practical, business-oriented solutions, working closely with internal stakeholders in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
On‑site presence in one of our office locations (Ann Arbor, Atlanta, or San Jose) is preferred, with a hybrid schedule of 3–4 days per week on site. This role is open to remote work within the U.S.
Relocation assistance is not available.
\n- Support Engineering & Product Teams: Provide legal counsel and strategic advice to engineering and product development teams, ensuring that legal considerations are integrated into the design, development, and deployment of new technologies.
- Contract Negotiation & Drafting: Negotiate, draft, and review commercial contracts including tech licensing agreements, service agreements, procurement/vendor agreements, NDAs, development agreements, proofs of concept, evaluation and technology transfer agreements.
- Data Privacy & Security: Ensure compliance with relevant data protection laws and regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) in the development and operation of our products and services.
- Employment: Provide advice on employment law matters, including employee relations, investigations, and workplace policies.
- Litigation: Provide litigation support, including fact gathering, development of litigation strategy, outside counsel management, and internal litigation tracking.
- AI & Emerging Technologies: Advise on legal issues related to AI, including ethical considerations, IP, and proposed legislation and regulations. Conduct legal research on new and emerging technologies and issues impacting the company. Provide risk assessments and practical legal solutions to business challenges.
- General Legal Support: Provide legal counsel on a wide variety of corporate matters, including corporate governance, operations, regulatory compliance, and corporate policies.
- 0-2 years of law firm and/or in-house experience.
- Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school, and admission to practice law and in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar (California, Michigan, or Georgia preferred)
- Strong legal research and writing, problem-solving, and oral communication skills.
- Ability to distill complex legal concepts into clear and concise business-friendly advice.
- Proven ability to manage high-volume workflows and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Capacity to work independently, as well as part of a team.
- Technical background not required, but must take initiative to establish basic understanding of relevant software and hardware.
- Proficiency in Microsoft 365; ability to quickly adapt to specialized systems.
- Large law firm and/or in-house experience.
- Experience supporting complex litigation work (e.g., experience drafting complex motions, declarations, discovery requests and responses, etc.).
- Experience working in global tech and/or automotive companies.
- Willingness to travel occasionally within the U.S. (California and Michigan) for in-person collaboration.
Additional Information:
The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on a wide range of factors, including, but not limited to, job-related education, skills, and experience, geographic location, and market conditions. The current salary range for this position is as follows and may be modified in the future: $58/hr - $64/hr.
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Salary : $58 - $64