Senior Employment Counsel

About the role

The Senior Employment Counsel will be responsible for both strategic and tactical legal initiatives in employment law, setting employment legal strategy, and serving as a partner to the rest of the company, especially the HR team. As a key member of the Astera legal team, this highly visible individual will provide effective advice and strategic support to the HR team and business leaders on employment strategies, policies, and compliance matters. The Senior Employment Counsel will be directly involved in employment litigation, policy development, training programs, and ensuring regulatory compliance across all employment-related activities.  This role will also have significant responsibility for internal investigations, proactive workplace risk management strategies, and employee relations. While primarily focused on employment law, this role may also be called upon to handle other legal matters and provide support across various legal disciplines as needed by the organization.

Reports to: General Counsel

Responsibilities

• Advise the HR team on a broad range of employment law issues, including policies and practices; employee relations issues and investigations involving alleged misconduct, retaliation, discrimination, and harassment; performance management, hiring, employee and executive exits; severance; leaves and reasonable accommodations.
• Manage and supervise outside counsel on all types of employment litigation, including single plaintiff actions, agency inquiries and charges, audits, and pre-litigation disputes.
• Provide expert legal services and counsel on employment classification issues, wage and hour compliance, workplace harassment prevention, and other employment law matters.
• Help set the overall philosophy and strategy regarding employment-related legal matters and decisions, ensuring all practices, policies, and business activities align with Astera's values and culture.
• Manage employment-related litigation, select internal investigations, and other employment-related inquiries in partnership with the HR team.
• Assist the HR team with audits, employment classification reviews, and other compliance efforts.
• Develop and deliver internal training on employment law compliance and global HR policies
• Manage employment-related administrative proceedings, including EEOC complaints, state and local EEO agency matters.
• Prepare, draft, review, negotiate, and modify employment agreements, separation agreements, and other employment-related documents with legal significance.
• Assist with the development and coordination of policies to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws while supporting Astera’s worldwide workforce.
• Identify employment law risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Keep abreast of legal decisions and changes in employment laws and regulations to provide current advice and ensure policies comply with relevant laws.
• Advise on matters arising out of the development and use of AI technology in recruiting/hiring, compliance, and other employment processes.
• Manage the selection and direction of outside employment counsel and monitor related legal expenditures.
• Advise on employment aspects of corporate transactions, including due diligence and integration.
• Provide strategic advice on high-level, critical and time-sensitive employment issues to senior executives and other members of the leadership team, including working reactively on crisis-oriented situations with travel as necessary.
• Support and manage non-employment litigation matters as needed, including commercial disputes, consumer claims, and other general litigation.
• Collaborate with other members of the legal team on cross-functional projects and provide legal guidance on matters outside of employment law when required.
• Assist with general legal matters during periods of high workload.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar (California preferred).
• 6+ years of employment law experience in a corporate legal department and/or law firm, with a preference for in-house experience in a fast-paced, high-growth technology company.
• Experience drafting and negotiating complex employment contracts and HR policies.
• Demonstrated experience handling classification issues, wage and hour compliance, workplace investigations, and employment litigation, including some experience with and knowledge of global labor laws and employment standards.
• Strong business sense and judgment balancing legal compliance with business priorities.
• Excellent leadership skills with the ability to provide clear guidance on complex employment matters throughout the Company.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to handle sensitive matters with discretion and professionalism.
• Versatility and willingness to take on legal matters outside of employment law when needed.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with the HR team.
• Strong analytical skills with experience in data analysis, trend identification, and developing metric-driven employee relations strategies.
• Proven ability to independently manage complex casework and investigations while building scalable processes and tools.

Compensation Range

• Salary range is $200,000 to $255,000 depending on experience and leveling. This role may be eligible to discretionary bonus, incentives and benefits 

We know that creativity and innovation happen more often when teams include diverse ideas, backgrounds, and experiences, and we actively encourage everyone with relevant experience to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people, veterans, parents, and individuals with disabilities.