Director, Commercial Legal

About Us

Temporal is an open source programming model that can simplify code, make applications more reliable, and help developers focus on the important things like delivering features faster. We are on a mission to be the reliable foundation of every developer’s toolbox, and are building the team that will make that happen.   Our values guide us —they are present in how we show up, make decisions, and work together to make an impact. We’re curious, driven, collaborative, genuine and humble.   Temporal is growing and we are looking for those who share our values, challenge 'standard' thinking, and want to influence our future. If you have a passion for improving the developer experience, building world-class open-source software and communities, and want to be a part of our amazing team, we'd love to hear from you!

Summary

Temporal is looking for a Director, Commercial Legal to build and lead the commercial legal function from the ground up. Reporting directly to the General Counsel, you will be the founding architect of how Temporal contracts, negotiates, and scales its commercial legal operations. This is a hands-on builder role — you'll lead a contracts manager from day one and build and grow the team over time, but you'll be expected to stay close to the work, embedded in the business, closing deals and solving problems in real time.

This is an opportunity for someone who is genuinely excited about building — creating systems, playbooks, and processes that didn't exist before, and doing it in a way that is smart, scalable, and AI-forward.

 

What You’ll Do

• Own and lead Temporal's commercial legal function end-to-end, covering both customer-facing agreements and vendor contracts, serving as the primary legal partner to Sales, Revenue Operations, and Finance
• Draft, negotiate, and close a broad range of commercial agreements across all deal sizes, from small velocity deals to complex enterprise contracts, including MSAs, DPAs, NDAs, partnership agreements, and bespoke addenda
• Negotiate and manage key vendor and procurement agreements, including SaaS subscriptions, technology licenses, and professional services contracts, while building scalable playbooks and best practices for vendor intake and risk assessment
• Build the commercial legal function from the ground up: design and implement scalable contracting frameworks, a CLM system, sales enablement materials, playbooks, and internal trainings
• Drive continuous improvement of commercial legal processes and policies, leveraging automation and AI-enabled tools to reduce cycle times and free bandwidth for high-impact work
• Serve as a strategic advisor across commercial matters, exercising sound judgment that balances business objectives, legal risk, and operational precedent
• Manage and develop a contracts manager, with an eye toward growing the team as the business scales
• Partner cross-functionally with Privacy, Security, Product, and Finance to ensure commercial terms are accurate, defensible, and forward-looking
• Translate complex legal and contractual concepts into clear, actionable guidance that empowers business stakeholders to self-serve where appropriate

What You'll Bring

• Admitted and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, with extensive in-house experience supporting go-to-market or commercial teams; law firm background is a plus
• 10+ years of experience drafting and negotiating enterprise commercial agreements across a wide range of deal sizes and structures in a B2B SaaS or cloud environment
• Proven track record supporting fast-moving sales organizations and understanding where deals get stuck
• Demonstrated experience building commercial legal infrastructure, including CLM systems, playbooks, standard form agreements, and enablement materials
• Strong business judgment with a pragmatic, business-forward approach to legal risk
• People management experience, with the ability to develop and grow a team while remaining hands-on as an individual contributor
• A low-ego, roll-up-your-sleeves approach, stepping outside traditional swim lanes when the business needs it and treating every problem, big or small, as your own
• A genuine passion for process improvement, automation, and applying AI tools to legal workflows

You'll Thrive in This Role If You Have

• Familiarity with data privacy concepts (GDPR, CCPA) and experience reviewing or negotiating DPAs
• Technical fluency or comfort working alongside engineering and product teams at a developer-focused or infrastructure company
• Experience with CLM platforms (e.g., Docusign IAM, Ironclad or similar), CRM tools, and modern collaboration tools
• Exposure to open source licensing or developer-facing commercial models

Compensation

• The estimated pay range for this role is $235,000 - $360,000 depending on 1) level and experience and 2) geographic location
• This role is eligible to participate in Temporal's equity plan

Compensation ranges reflect salary and commission compensation (when applicable) across several geographic markets. Employment offers carefully consider multiple factors, including prior experience, knowledge, expertise, skillset, market location, and job level assessed during the interview process.   Employee benefits and perks below are for full-time employees, part-time or temporary positions are excluded.    U.S. Benefits 

• Unlimited PTO, 12 Holidays + 2 Floating Holidays
• 100% Premiums Coverage for Medical, Dental, and Vision
• AD&D, LT & ST Disability, and Life Insurance (Standard & Supplemental Available)
• Empower 401K Plan
• Additional Perks for Learning & Development, Lifestyle Spending, In-Home Office Setup, Professional Memberships, WFH Meals, Internet Stipend and more!

International Benefits

Paid Time Off (PTO) and Benefits outside the United States vary by country, and are issued in partnership with Remote.com.  Additionally, Temporal offers perks to all international employees for learning & career development, a lifestyle spending account, in-home office setup (in addition to company-issued hardware), professional memberships, work-from-home meals, and access to the Calm app for mental wellness.

Travel

Temporal is a globally distributed, collaborative team that values opportunities for in-person connection. Occasional travel may be required for company events, team offsites, and other meaningful moments that bring us together.

Additional Perks 

• $3,600 / Year Work from Home Meals 
• $1,800 / Year Professional Enrichment (Career Development & Professional Memberships)
• $1,200 / Year Lifestyle Spending Account
• $1,000 / Year In-Home Office Setup (In addition to Temporal issued equipment - laptop, monitor, keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and extension power cable at no cost to you)
• $74 / Month Reimbursement for Internet
• Calm App Subscription for Mental Health & Wellness

Temporal Technologies is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Temporal Technologies does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, national origin, veteran status, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need. We embrace and celebrate differences and diversity.   Temporal is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. If you need to request a reasonable accommodation, please let your Recruiter know so we can assist.   We are not working with external recruitment agencies, thanks.