Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
Privacy and data protection have become core product constraints in SaaS, particularly for platforms handling customer communications and user data across regions. A Senior Privacy Counsel role in this context sits at the intersection of product development, security posture, and go to market execution, where regulatory change and customer expectations increasingly shape roadmap decisions. The remit spanning privacy, cybersecurity, and elements of AI governance reflects how modern SaaS legal work is moving upstream into product and platform design.
For a SaaS career, this kind of position builds durable, cross functional influence. The work naturally touches privacy by design, incident response coordination, contract standards such as DPAs, and the operational machinery behind scalable compliance programs. Experience translating multi jurisdictional requirements like GDPR and CCPA into practical engineering and commercial guidance is highly portable across SaaS categories, especially as enterprise buyers scrutinize risk controls and documentation.
This role is best suited to an established privacy leader who prefers partnering closely with product, engineering, security, and commercial stakeholders rather than operating as a back office reviewer. It will appeal to someone comfortable owning policy and program architecture, educating senior leaders, and balancing legal risk with product realities in a multi office environment.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
What's the opportunity?
Intercom’s Legal team is seeking a dedicated Senior Privacy Counsel to lead the company on global legal matters involving privacy, data protection and cybersecurity, as well as to help support other compliance initiatives including AI governance and product development. You will advise and partner with our engineering, product, security, sales, marketing, H.R. and other teams throughout the organization to manage legal risk and compliance with global privacy laws and regulations. You will develop and effectuate strategies and initiatives that focus on building a scalable privacy and data protection program, as well as educate and train key stakeholders on prioritizing data protection as a core value for Intercom. The position may be based in: San Francisco, California, London, England or Dublin, Ireland.
What will I be doing?
- Serve as a subject matter expert and resource on privacy, data protection and security with a multi-jurisdicitional lens
- Work with teams across offices on various privacy, data protection and security compliance initiatives
- Partner very closely with your colleagues on Intercom’s legal team on a number of cross functional projects with privacy, data protection and regulatory implications
- Draft external privacy notices and disclosures, and manage/update internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance with global privacy and data protection laws
- Provide guidance and interpretation on legal requirements to the engineering and product teams with respect to existing and new product features and functionality for privacy-by-design initiatives
- Provide guidance to the H.R. team on employee privacy and data protection concerns and processes
- Respond to customer and employee questions about their individual data rights and Intercom’s processing activities
- Draft data protection impact assessments, partnering with product counsel and security, where needed
- Keep up to date on privacy and data protection law developments and provide analysis and guidance for implementation into business processes
- Counsel and advise commercial teams and business partners on data protection related provisions in contracts, including partnering with commercial counsel on drafting and maintaining data processing agreement templates and playbooks
- Partner with the Security team on company policies, risk assessments, projects and breach incidents
- Support projects in other key compliance areas involving our Code of Conduct and other policies
What skills do I need?
- 10+ years relevant experience as an attorney or counsel with law firm and in-house legal departments, advising a multinational technology company on global data privacy regulation and laws
- Deep experience with global privacy regulations, which include GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive and CCPA-CPRA. Working understanding of Australian Privacy Act, HIPAA, PIPEDA, LGPD and desire to learn other jurisdictions’ laws and upcoming regulations, as needed, to support the business
- Foundational knowledge of key security programs such as SOC2, ISO and HIPAA.
- CIPP/E or CIPP/US certification
- Comfort in influencing and educating an organization on the importance of privacy and implementation of privacy initiatives, and capable of building relationships and gaining respect of senior leaders in the organization
- An ability to multi-task and handle a variety of projects and tasks simultaneously
- Attention to detail, a sense of passion to support Intercom’s privacy initiatives and the ability and confidence to assess and balance risk in a fast-paced environment
- California state bar licensed attorney or ability to be registered as in-house counsel if licensed in another jurisdiction; or qualified in Ireland and/or the UK
Benefits
We are a well-treated bunch with awesome benefits! If there’s something important to you that’s not on this list, talk to us!
- Competitive salary and meaningful equity
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Regular compensation reviews - great work is rewarded!
- Flexible paid time off policy
- Paid Parental Leave Program
- 401k plan & match
- In-office bicycle storage
- Fun events for Intercomrades, friends, and family!
*Proof of eligibility to work in the United States is required.
The base salary range for candidates within the San Francisco Bay Area is $220,000 - $263,500. Actual base pay will depend on a variety of factors such as education, skills, experience, location, etc. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All regular employees may also be eligible for the corporate bonus program or a sales incentive (target included in OTE) as well as stock in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).
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