Director, Legal Operations

Building the Future of Crypto. Our Krakenites are a world-class team with crypto conviction, united by our desire to discover and unlock the potential of crypto and blockchain technology. What makes us different? Kraken is a mission-focused company rooted in crypto values. As a Krakenite, you’ll join us on our mission to accelerate the global adoption of crypto, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion.

The Director, Legal Operations will serve as the centralized owner for Legal’s operations, technology, data, and execution. This role is the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) for Legal AI strategy and implementation, partnering closely with Engineering, Product, Security, Finance, and other stakeholders to modernize and scale Kraken’s legal function. As Kraken’s regulatory footprint and business complexity grow, this leader will own operational strategy, tooling, process design, and metrics—driving automation, AI adoption, workflow standardization, and vendor optimization.

This role ensures Legal operates as a strategic, data‑driven partner to the business rather than a reactive cost center. This leader will also be responsible for Legal’s financial, resourcing, and demand management foundations—ensuring the right work is done by the right resource at the right cost, with predictable outcomes as the organization scales.

The opportunity:

• Serve as the DRI for Legal Operations, Legal Technology, and Legal AI strategy, execution, and governance, ensuring scalable, compliant, and high‑impact delivery.
• Own and evolve Legal’s operating model, identifying inefficiencies and driving scale across workflows, processes, resourcing, service delivery, and automation.
• Partner with the CLO and Finance on Legal budgeting, forecasting, accruals, and long‑range cost modeling to ensure spend predictability and alignment with business growth.
• Lead legal resourcing, capacity planning, and vendor management, including headcount modeling, role design, make/buy/automate decisions, legal billing, and outside counsel oversight.
• Manage and govern Legal’s full technology stack (CLM, matter management, intake, spend, knowledge management, and AI tools), preventing tool sprawl through standardization and compliance.
• Design, implement, and scale Legal intake, triage, demand‑management, and AI‑enabled workflows, moving from experimentation to secure, enterprise‑grade deployment.
• Establish metrics, dashboards, and operational controls to provide visibility into legal demand, workload, spend, efficiency, risk, outcomes, and audit readiness.
• Act as a force multiplier for Legal by enabling attorneys to focus on high‑value judgment, strategy, and advisory work through process, technology, and AI enablement.

Skills you should HODL:

• 10+ years of experience across Legal Operations, legal technology, process design, and finance‑adjacent operational leadership in scaled, regulated, or technology‑driven organizations.
• Proven track record owning and scaling legal operations, legal tech, and financial management in complex, multi‑stakeholder environments.
• Demonstrated leadership driving automation and AI initiatives end‑to‑end, from strategy and governance through secure enterprise deployment, adoption, and ROI measurement.
• Deep understanding of core legal workflows (contracts, regulatory, investigations, litigation, intake, outside counsel) with the ability to redesign inefficient end‑to‑end processes.
• Hands‑on experience owning and optimizing legal technology platforms, including CLM, matter management, intake, spend management, knowledge management, and AI‑enabled tools.
• Ability to translate Legal requirements into clear technical roadmaps and executable operational plans.
• Experience building metrics, dashboards, controls, and OKRs to measure performance, cost, risk, efficiency, and outcomes.
• Strong executive communication and influence skills, with comfort operating in ambiguity and leading transformation in fast‑moving, high‑growth environments.

Nice to haves:

• Experience in fintech, crypto, financial services, or other highly regulated industries.
• Background in enterprise AI governance, model risk management, or secure deployment of AI systems.
• Prior people management experience within Legal Operations or adjacent operational functions.
• Experience benchmarking Legal Operations practices, tooling, and cost structures against peer companies or industry standards (e.g., CLOC frameworks).

Unless a specific application deadline is stated in the job posting, applications are accepted on an ongoing basis. Please note, applicants are permitted to redact or remove information on their resume that identifies age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. We consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. Kraken is powered by people from around the world and we celebrate all Krakenites for their diverse talents, backgrounds, contributions and unique perspectives. We hire strictly based on merit, meaning we seek out the candidates with the right abilities, knowledge, and skills considered the most suitable for the job. We encourage you to apply for roles where you don’t fully meet the listed requirements, especially if you’re passionate or knowledgeable about crypto! As an equal opportunity employer, we don’t tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind.