Product Counsel

📋 Description

• • Column is revolutionizing the financial services industry by providing technology-forward banking solutions that simplify the complex and often expensive banking supply chain. We are a bank and a software company built from the ground up, designed to empower builders and developers by cutting out hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers. This results in a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking infrastructure for companies building financial technology.
• • As a Senior Product Counsel at Column, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our product offerings. This is not a passive review role; you will be a key strategic partner, collaborating closely with our Go-to-Market, Engineering, Compliance, Risk, and Finance teams to drive product development and expansion. Your unique insights, gained from experience in traditional banking, fintech, or highly regulated product launches, will be instrumental as we navigate intricate regulatory environments while maintaining our competitive edge.
• • This position offers true ownership and the opportunity to be a primary decision-maker on product legal strategy. You will have direct access to leadership and the ability to significantly influence our approach to regulatory compliance and product development. This includes launching new fintech partnerships and expanding our existing offerings. You will also engage directly with our fintech partners, fostering innovation and co-creating new products, making this a hands-on and customer-facing role.
• • This is a unique opportunity to leverage your BigLaw training, deep banking knowledge, and fintech experience to build something truly impactful. If you are ready to transition from a reviewer to a builder, this role is for you.
• • You will be the strategic legal voice enabling product innovation, acting as a facilitator rather than a bottleneck. You will partner closely with our business teams and fintech partners from the initial ideation phase through to product launch, proactively identifying potential challenges and architecting creative solutions that expertly balance business objectives with stringent regulatory requirements.
• • A core responsibility will be to own and evolve our regulatory architecture for both existing and new products. You will collaborate with our compliance and risk teams to develop robust, scalable approaches that effectively protect the business while simultaneously enabling rapid growth. This involves navigating complex regulatory landscapes to identify practical and compliant paths forward.
• • You will serve as the primary subject matter expert on all legal and regulatory requirements pertaining to payments, lending, card relationships, and various banking products. This includes developing and maintaining profound expertise in banking partnership structures, payment systems, correspondent banking, and the evolving landscape of fintech regulations. A key aspect of this role is staying ahead of regulatory changes and translating their implications into actionable insights for the business.
• • Building and nurturing strong, collaborative relationships across Product, Engineering, Risk, and Go-to-Market teams will be essential. You will cultivate trust by acting as a business partner who deeply understands both the technical intricacies of our platform and the commercial objectives of our partners. Your role will be to empower these teams to move with speed while ensuring appropriate risk controls are consistently maintained.
• • You will have the opportunity to shape industry dialogue by representing Column's interests with regulators, industry groups, and key partners. This includes sharing valuable insights on regulatory developments and their practical implications, thereby helping to establish Column as a recognized thought leader in the banking infrastructure space.
• • A significant focus will be on scaling our operations. You will design and implement legal processes that are built to accommodate hypergrowth. This includes improving the efficiency of partner onboarding while upholding rigorous compliance standards, and building repeatable frameworks that enable the business to accelerate its progress.
• • You will enable business growth by partnering with Go-to-Market teams to streamline partner onboarding and product launches. This involves developing standardized, efficient approaches that reduce friction for our partners while effectively managing associated risks. Your efforts will contribute to establishing Column as the premier platform of choice for embedded banking solutions.
• • This role reports directly to the Bank's General Counsel and is based in San Francisco, CA, with the flexibility of remote work.