Product Counsel

Flashbots is looking for a highly motivated, experienced, and MEV-aware Product Counsel to join our team. Product Counsel at Flashbots is a critical cross-functional role that will require you to build strong relationships and collaborate closely with product, research, and coordination teammates and external legal counsel. Product Counsel will have a direct role in advising across the organization on specific aspects of product development and implementation as well as helping us shape the narrative of our organization in a clear and comprehensible manner.

You will need to be attuned to the unique market structures within the crypto industry and be able to translate regulatory and legal risk assessments into a structure that best suits our unique positioning. This role is not just about managing existing legal and compliance matters, but also envisioning a future landscape where decentralized public blockchains continue to thrive.

• Participate in strategic decision-making and apply sound risk mitigation frameworks to product development

• Engage in nuanced technical discussions with product and research orgs as a thought and development partner.

• Provide full product life-cycle counseling for products and open-source protocols or public goods.

• Be an effective and efficient cross-functional collaborator with product, research, coordination, and external counsel.

• Serve as an important connector between internal orgs, educating teammates on legal and regulatory challenges and risks to more effectively drive toward organizational goals.

• Develop and implement internal policies and procedures and manage and oversee regulatory filings, licenses, and permits.

• Ensure product compliance with relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards.

• Provide thought leadership and strategic direction on novel crypto and blockchain legal and regulatory issues.

• Draft, review, and negotiate contracts, agreements, and legal documents.

• Conduct legal research to stay updated on industry trends and changes in regulations.

• Manage and collaborate with external legal counsel when necessary.
  
  

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or international equivalent.

• Extensive experience in legal practice, with a focus on regulatory compliance, financial services, and cryptocurrency.

• Strong knowledge of relevant laws and regulations, such as securities, commodities, anti-money laundering (AML), and data privacy.

• Experience working in or with the crypto industry, understanding its unique challenges and opportunities.

• Proven track record of successfully engaging with regulatory issues and compliance programs.

• Excellent drafting, negotiation, and communication skills.
  
  

• Ability to translate complex legal and regulatory language into layman's terms for internal stakeholders.

• A visionary, yet grounded approach to legal matters, with an ability to balance vision with operational considerations.

• Technical skills and/or product development or start-up experience.

• A belief in the promise of decentralized public blockchains

• Affirmation of the importance of privacy and open access to cryptography

• An understanding and appreciation for building in the open and contributing open-source public goods to technology communities.

• Ability to adapt and navigate through a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

• Detail-oriented with strong business acumen and strategic thinking.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

• High ethical standards and integrity.

• Strong leadership and decision-making abilities.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.

Flashbots started in 2020 as a research and development organization formed to mitigate the negative externalities and existential risks posed by Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) to smart-contract blockchains, starting with Ethereum. We build products to maximally decentralize public blockchains, redistribute MEV, and empower users. We work closely with our community to ensure that our products have a positive impact, are secure, and can be used in production at scale.

Since the launch of Flashbots, we have had an immense impact on the world of cryptocurrency. The Flashbots Auction was launched in alpha in January 2021 and was quickly adopted by almost all Ethereum miners. Prior to Ethereum's Merge in 2022, Flashbots launched MEV-Boost, a temporary solution for out-of-protocol proposer-builder separation. MEV-Boost has since been adopted by over 90% of Ethereum validators and has significantly influenced the Ethereum PoS ecosystem. Now, Flashbots continues its journey with the introduction of novel privacy primitives and SUAVE.

Flashbots Research is an independent arm of the organization that aims to become the hub of MEV research. In addition to conducting in-house analysis, Flashbots Research collaborates with external researchers at other institutions via an external grants program. Flashbots Research continues to publish seminal research on MEV, covering a wide range of topics including cross-chain MEV, EIP1559 and MEV, how ETH2 affects MEV, SGX and privacy, and more. For a full list of publications, visit writings.flashbots.net.

• Competitive salary

• Significantly above market rate equity compensation package

• Unlimited PTO with a high level of freedom and autonomy for your work

• Yearly budget for your individual learning and development goals

• Work alongside the brightest minds in the crypto space

• Help build the future of blockchain technology

• Attractive health cover package for US employees

• Remote working - travel and work from anywhere in the world

• Paid travel - team on-sites in different parts of the world, several times a year

At Flashbots, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, or disability status..