Principal Product & Commercial Counsel

About the role

You will act as the primary legal strategist embedded within Docker's product and engineering organizations, translating complex legal constraints into pragmatic business options. The role owns end-to-end product counsel across conception, design, build, launch, monetization, and sunsetting of Docker's portfolio. You will interpret open source and cloud licensing realities to shape how Docker ships and sells its products to millions of developers. In parallel, you will negotiate the commercial terms that bring those products to market, balancing growth velocity with risk mitigation. You will frame policy guardrails for AI features, supply chain security, and regulatory compliance across the full product lifecycle. This position serves as the bridge between legal constraints and commercial opportunity for Docker's global go-to-market engine. You will directly influence the architecture, licensing, and distribution of the tools that define how software is built and delivered.

Key facts

What you'll do

Define product strategy guardrails by partnering with Product Management and Engineering to evaluate legal feasibility, risk exposure, and compliance requirements for new Docker products, features, pricing models, and Early Access initiatives.

Analyze open source software licensing landscapes for inbound and outbound Docker distributions, conducting compatibility assessments across Apache, MIT, BSD, GPL, LGPL, and AGPL to ensure compliant contribution, integration, and shipping practices.

Draft and maintain Docker's product-facing legal artifacts, including service-specific terms, subscription and licensing agreements, beta and Early Access programs, fair use policies, and acceptable use documentation that support evolving monetization models.

Structure and negotiate commercial provisions in customer and partner agreements, addressing product licensing, cloud services, hybrid on-premise and SaaS deployments, IP ownership, indemnification, warranties, and support commitments alongside Sales and Deal Desk.

Provide counsel on AI-enabled product features, assessing training data provenance, output ownership, third-party model licensing obligations, and alignment with emerging AI regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act.

Collaborate with GRC and security teams to align product design with regulatory obligations, including software supply chain security expectations, vulnerability disclosure, and evolving regimes like the EU Cyber Resilience Act.

Own and refine Docker's intellectual property strategy, including trademark usage guidelines, brand protection in product and marketing contexts, and coordination with outside counsel on enforcement and portfolio management.

Monitor legal and regulatory developments affecting developer tools, open source ecosystems, cloud services, and AI technologies, translating complex changes into actionable updates for Product and GTM teams.

Build scalable playbooks, templates, and self-service legal resources that allow Product and Go-to-Market teams to execute quickly within clearly defined legal guardrails and risk tolerances.

Serve as the central legal partner for Docker's Product Management and Engineering teams, providing ongoing advisory through product discovery, scoping, and post-launch reviews to reduce friction and accelerate responsible innovation.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar.

6+ years of relevant legal experience, with a meaningful portion in-house at a software, cloud, or developer tools company; a combination of law firm and in-house experience is ideal.

Deep familiarity with open source software licensing, including copyleft and permissive license regimes, license compatibility analysis, and OSS program governance.

Hands-on experience drafting and negotiating SaaS, software licensing, and cloud services agreements, including enterprise customer negotiations of IP, indemnity, and liability provisions.

Working technical fluency with developer software concepts such as virtual containers, registries, CI/CD, APIs, and software supply chain security; direct familiarity with Docker's products or comparable developer platforms is a strong plus.

Understanding of AI and LLM legal issues, including model licensing, training data, and applicable regulatory frameworks such as the EU AI Act.

Commitment to working as part of a globally distributed, remote-first team that builds tools defining how software gets built and delivered across markets and time zones.

Nice to have

Experience advising on product monetization, pricing models, and commercial negotiations in developer platforms or infrastructure software businesses.

Background in regulated industries or experience navigating government or enterprise procurement processes for developer tools.

Exposure to DevSecOps practices and software composition analysis tooling relevant to supply chain risk management.

Practical notes

This role is based in the United States and is full-time.

The position is hybrid, requiring periodic in-person collaboration while supporting a remote-first, globally distributed team.

Travel expectations, visa, and deadline details are not specified in this job page.