This role involves drafting, reviewing, and negotiating customer-facing commercial agreements for an enterprise software company. The Legal Counsel will advise on privacy, data protection, and AI issues, collaborating with internal teams to support deal closure. The position requires 5+ years of experience in commercial contract negotiation, including SaaS agreements and privacy-related matters.
About the Team
The Global Legal Services team delivers world class legal shared services to Workday’s Legal and Sales teams in a wide variety of transactional and in-depth work. This worldwide team is composed of legal professionals who handle work across Workday’s customers, vendors, and internal partners. The team is asked to manage a large volume of deals and opportunities; as well as interact with several cross functional teams, and it operates at scale through efficiency, speed, and skills.
About the Role
As Legal Counsel at Workday, you will support customer-facing commercial transactions for a fast-growing, innovative enterprise software company. You will draft, review, negotiate, and manage a wide range of agreements that support Workday’s customer relationships, including Workday’s Main Subscription Agreement, data protection agreements, AI addenda, service level agreements, and related amendments.
This role requires strong legal and business judgment, excellent communication skills, attention to detail, adaptability, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment. You will work closely with Sales, Deals Operations, Finance, Product, Security, Privacy, and other Legal teams to structure agreements, resolve contract issues, and support efficient, risk-calibrated deal closure.
A successful candidate will be proactive, solutions-oriented, and able to provide practical legal guidance that helps move transactions forward while appropriately managing risk.
Responsibilities:
Contract Drafting & Negotiation
- Draft, review, and negotiate customer-facing commercial agreements, including SaaS agreements, order forms, data protection agreements, AI addenda, service level agreements, and related amendments.
- Review proposed contract modifications from customers and prospects, working directly with Sales, Deals Operations, and internal stakeholders to secure necessary approvals.
- Provide practical legal guidance to cross-functional teams on contract positions, common edits, non-standard terms, policies, and contract-related questions.
- Participate in calls with customers, prospects, and internal stakeholders to support negotiation and resolution of contract issues.
- Advise on privacy, data protection, AI, security, compliance, and other legal issues arising in customer-facing commercial transactions.
Process & Workflow Management:
- Manage a high-volume contracting queue while maintaining quality, meeting business timelines, and prioritizing matters based on risk, urgency, and business impact.
- Support improvements to contract templates, playbooks, fallback positions, internal guidance, and workflow processes to increase consistency, efficiency, and scalability.
- Help implement legal efficiencies through the negotiation cycle and support continuous improvement of contract management systems and related operational processes.
Legal & Business Support
- Build and maintain effective collaboration with internal business groups, including Sales, Deals Operations, Finance, Product, Security, Privacy, and other Legal teams.
- Apply sound legal and business judgment to identify issues, assess risk, propose practical solutions, and escalate matters when appropriate.
- Execute assigned projects based on the evolving needs of the business and the Legal department.
- Share knowledge and guidance with internal stakeholders on contract standards, negotiation strategy, and risk positions.
About You
Basic Qualifications
- Juris Doctor degree and active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
- 5+ years of experience drafting and negotiating commercial contracts in a corporate, in-house, or law firm environment.
- Direct experience drafting and negotiating SaaS, technology, or other customer-facing commercial agreements.
- Experience with privacy, data protection, or AI-related contracting issues.
Other Qualifications
- Strong commercial contracting experience, including MSAs, order forms, data protection agreements, AI addenda, service level agreements, and related customer-facing commercial agreements.
- Ability to communicate complex legal concepts clearly and practically to legal and non-legal audiences.
- Strong business judgment and ability to align legal guidance with company objectives.
- Ability to assess risk, propose practical solutions, and support business growth while protecting the company.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Sales, Deals Operations, Finance, Product, Security, Privacy, Services, and Legal teams.
- Ability to manage a high-volume contracting workflow and competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Experience with contract lifecycle management systems, such as Salesforce, Apttus, or Conga, and electronic signature tools, such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Strong analytical skills, including the ability to identify contracting trends, translate complex information into actionable guidance, and support improvements to legal workflows.
- Ability to work independently, take initiative, and adapt to changing priorities.
- Experience supporting enterprise software or SaaS transactions preferred.
Workday Pay Transparency Statement
The annualized base salary ranges for the primary location and any additional locations are listed below. Workday pay ranges vary based on work location. As a part of the total compensation package, this role may be eligible for the Workday Bonus Plan or a role-specific commission/bonus, as well as annual refresh stock grants. Recruiters can share more detail during the hiring process. Each candidate’s compensation offer will be based on multiple factors including, but not limited to, geography, experience, skills, job duties, and business need, among other things. For more information regarding Workday’s comprehensive benefits, please click here.
Primary Location: USA.MA.Boston
Primary Location Base Pay Range: $147,800 USD - $221,800 USD
Additional US Location(s) Base Pay Range: $133,800 USD - $237,600 USD
Our Approach to Flexible Work
With Flex Work, we’re combining the best of both worlds: in-person time and remote. Our approach enables our teams to deepen connections, maintain a strong community, and do their best work. We know that flexibility can take shape in many ways, so rather than a number of required days in-office each week, we simply spend at least half (50%) of our time each quarter in the office or in the field with our customers, prospects, and partners (depending on role). This means you'll have the freedom to create a flexible schedule that caters to your business, team, and personal needs, while being intentional to make the most of time spent together. Those in our remote "home office" roles also have the opportunity to come together in our offices for important moments that matter.
Pursuant to applicable Fair Chance law, Workday will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Workday is an Equal Opportunity Employer including individuals with disabilities and protected veterans.
Workday is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals during our application process, in order to perform one or more essential functions of their job, as well as regarding the use of AI tools for employment decision-making to any degree. Please see below for more details including how to request an accommodation as a qualified veteran, due to a disability or for religious reasons, or as otherwise provided under applicable law.
Workday prohibits taking adverse action against any candidate or employee for reporting a possible violation of this policy, requesting one or more work accommodations, exercising a privacy right, or cooperating in an investigation in accordance with applicable law. Any employee who retaliates against a candidate or employee for doing so may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, to the fullest extent allowable under applicable law.
If you require a reasonable accommodation, you may email accommodations@workday.com, as far in advance as possible.
Are you being referred to one of our roles? If so, ask your connection at Workday about our Employee Referral process!
At Workday, we value our candidates’ privacy and data security. Workday will never ask candidates to apply to jobs through websites that are not Workday Careers.
Please be aware of sites that may ask for you to input your data in connection with a job posting that appears to be from Workday but is not.
In addition, Workday will never ask candidates to pay a recruiting fee, or pay for consulting or coaching services, in order to apply for a job at Workday.