Senior Regulatory Counsel

Do you want to change the world? Zipline is on a mission to transform the way goods move. Our aim is to solve the world’s most urgent and complex access challenges by building, manufacturing and operating the first instant delivery and logistics system that serves all humans equally, wherever they are. From powering Rwanda’s national blood delivery network and Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution, to providing on-demand home delivery for Walmart, to enabling healthcare providers to bring care directly to U.S. homes, we are transforming the way things move for businesses, governments and consumers. The technology is complex but the idea is simple: a teleportation service that delivers what you need, when you need it. Through our technology that includes robotics and autonomy, we are decarbonizing delivery, decreasing road congestion, and reducing fossil fuel consumption and air pollution, while providing equitable access to billions of people and building a more resilient global supply chain.

 

Join Zipline and help us to make good on our promise to build an equitable and more resilient global supply chain for billions of people.

About You and The Role  

The Zipline Legal Team is searching for an experienced, solution-oriented, and high-integrity Senior Regulatory Counsel who will calmly and credibly help Zipline secure and maintain a diverse set of business-critical, non-aviation regulatory approvals that enable Zipline operations across the U.S. These regulatory approvals may range from local land use and zoning approvals in Dallas, to consents from the State Board of Pharmacy in Washington, to federal telecommunications licenses from the FCC.  To that end, this role will place you at the intersection of municipal real estate law, healthcare regulatory compliance, hardware and software product counseling, and other non-aviation regulatory regimes, allowing you to learn a wide range of regulatory frameworks and work closely with almost every operations and business team at Zipline.  After a few months, you’ll be an indispensable advisor to the business and will lead the Legal Team’s strategic approach to a handful of cutting-edge legal projects. 

This role is based out of Zipline’s HQ in South San Francisco, CA and reports to Zipline’s General Counsel.

What You'll Do  

• Develop and execute Zipline’s strategy for securing operationally-critical, non-aviation regulatory approvals in the U.S., including land use and zoning approvals, healthcare regulatory and Board of Pharmacy approvals, hardware licensing approvals, food and safety approvals, etc. 
• Develop a deep understanding of Zipline’s past, present, and future business and regulatory strategy, mission and values, and product and service offerings, so that you can build regulatory solutions that are uniquely tailored to Zipline’s business.
• Project manage the creation, implementation, socialization, and management of clear and right-sized regulatory compliance programs that are repeatable and defensible. 
• Build genuine relationships with key members of Zipline’s Operations, Business, and Engineering Teams so that you closely understand the technology, services, or real estate that you are securing approvals for and so that you understand how those approvals impact Zipline’s business.
• Play a key role in ensuring that Zipline acts responsibly and with integrity in everything it does.
• Pinch hit for members of the Legal Team, helping to creatively and efficiently address novel questions that come up each day across Zipline’s global business.

What You'll Bring 

• A deep understanding of and familiarity with core U.S. regulatory regimes and experience securing first-in-time, challenging, or creative regulatory approvals for your clients.
• You thrive in high-stakes and time-sensitive situations, and love the feeling of undramatically securing business-critical regulatory approvals alongside  the business.
• Experience tactfully presenting to, negotiating with, and/or building relationships with local, state, and federal regulators across a variety of regulatory regimes.
• Clear and persuasive writing skills, strong and resourceful research skills, and excellent verbal communication and marketing skills. 
• You are not easily overwhelmed or fearful of new challenges or hairy legal questions–rather, you tap into your innate curiosity and seize the opportunity to dive headfirst into the challenge or legal question. 
• You are process-oriented and enjoy creating and implementing regulatory compliance programs of all shapes and sizes. 
• Strong time-management skills that enable you to set aggressive but realistic deadlines that you meet (and usually beat), even with competing priorities.
• You don’t overthink issues, rabbit-hole on theoretical risk, or over-negotiate against yourself or your business partners.
• You have pragmatic and fluid risk-management and risk-calibration skills but never sacrifice integrity. 
• Confidence to make independent judgment calls with conviction–and the instincts to recognize when issues require escalation or input from others.

What Else You Need to Know     

• 6+ years of relevant legal experience at a top-tier law firm and/or in-house
• JD Degree required
• Member in good standing of at least one state bar 
• Must be eligible to work in the United States