Product Counsel, Payments at whatnot

This role is designed for a seasoned legal professional with **8+ years of experience** who thrives at the intersection of fintech and high-growth e-commerce. Y

Work type: onsite

Location: New York, NY | San Francisco, CA | Los Angeles, CA

Salary: $260,000 – $325,000/yr

Type: Full-time

Summary

This role is designed for a seasoned legal professional with **8+ years of experience** who thrives at the intersection of fintech and high-growth e-commerce. You are the ideal candidate if you possess a deep command of payments law (card networks, money transmission, AML) and have a proven track record of negotiating complex commercial agreements with processors and financial institutions. While "mid-level" is noted, the 8-year requirement and high compensation suggest a senior-level expertise is expected. The compensation package is highly competitive, ranging from **$260,000 to $325,000**, and includes robust benefits like a 4% 401k match, 16 weeks of parental leave, and even "dogfooding" stipends to shop on the platform. While the team is "remote co-located," you must live within commuting distance of **NYC, SF, or LA** for hybrid planning and collaboration. **You might be a good fit if you:** * Have navigated the nuances of PSD2, BSA/AML, and merchant-acquiring frameworks in an in-house setting. * Enjoy "building from 0 to 1" and can translate dense regulatory requirements into actionable product advice for engineers. * Maintain an active J.D. in New York or California. * Are comfortable with a fast-paced environment where you must balance legal risk with business speed.

Job Description

## 🚀 Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest livestream shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it's trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We're building live commerce at a scale that's never been done in the West, and there's no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops.

As a remote co-located team, we're inspired by our [values](https://www.whatnot.com/careers) and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact.

We're one of the [fastest growing marketplaces](https://a16z.com/marketplace-100/) and were recently named the [#1 Best Startup Employer in America](http://google.com/search?q=%231+forbes+startup+employer&oq=%231+forbes+startup+employer&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRg9MgYIAhBFGD0yBggDEEUYQDIGCAQQRRhAMgYIBRBFGEDSAQg1NzM0ajBqMagCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our [news](https://blog.teamwhatnot.com/) and [engineering blogs](https://medium.com/whatnot-engineering) and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

## 💻 Role

We are looking for an experienced Senior Product Counsel to lead legal support for Whatnot’s payments and financial services initiatives, spanning both consumer experiences and merchant/acquirer relationships.

This role will be a key partner to our Product, Engineering, Business Development, and Risk teams, advising on the design, development, and operation of innovative payment systems. You’ll work on everything from new payment features and financial products to large-scale partnerships with processors, card networks, and other fintech players.

The ideal candidate has deep experience in payments and fintech regulation, a strong transactional background, and a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach. You’ll help us navigate complex regulatory frameworks while enabling speed and innovation.

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• Provide strategic and practical legal advice to product, engineering, and business teams on the design and rollout of payment products, merchant services, and financial infrastructure.

• Advise on regulatory and compliance requirements, including U.S. and international payment regulations, money transmission, stored value, AML/BSA, consumer protection, and card network rules.

• Draft, negotiate, and manage complex commercial agreements with processors, acquiring banks, payment facilitators, and other financial partners.

• Partner with Compliance, Risk, and Product Operations to develop scalable policies, playbooks, and controls that support compliant and sustainable growth.

• Support expansion of payment products into new jurisdictions, assessing cross-border licensing and regulatory frameworks.

• Collaborate with Business Development on strategic financial partnerships and integrations.

• Stay current on developments in payments, fintech, and digital commerce regulation, and advise leadership on implications for product strategy.

• Help build the infrastructure for a world-class legal function that scales with Whatnot’s growth.

##

## 👋 You

Curious about who thrives at Whatnot? We’ve found that low ego, a growth mindset, and leaning into action and high impact goes a long way here. As our Corporate Counsel, you should have:

• A Juris Doctor (J.D.) and active membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (CA or NY preferred).

• 8+ years of combined experience in a top law firm and/or in-house legal department, including at least 3 years advising on payments, fintech, or financial services matters.

• Deep understanding of payments law and infrastructure, including card network operating rules, money transmission, and merchant acquiring frameworks.

• Proven experience negotiating commercial and technology agreements with financial institutions, processors, or payment partners.

• Strong familiarity with U.S. and international regulatory frameworks, including PSD2, e-money, AML, and consumer finance regulations.

• Ability to work cross-functionally in a fast-paced, product-driven environment, providing actionable guidance to non-legal stakeholders.

• Excellent communication, drafting, and interpersonal skills, with a bias toward clarity and collaboration.

• A proactive, business-minded approach and comfort with ambiguity.

• A sense of humor and humility—you take your work seriously, but not yourself.

• Generous Holiday and Time off Policy

• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision

• Work From Home Support

• Home office setup allowance

• Monthly allowance for cell phone and internet

• Care benefits

• Monthly allowance for wellness

• Annual allowance towards Childcare

• Lifetime benefit for family planning, such as adoption or fertility expenses

• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally

• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app

• All Whatnauts are expected to develop a deep understanding of our product. We're passionate about building the best user experience, and all employees are expected to use Whatnot as both a buyer and a seller as part of their job (our dogfooding budget makes this fun and easy!).

• Parental Leave

• 16 weeks of paid parental leave + one month gradual return to work *company leave allowances run concurrently with country leave requirements which take precedence.

## 💛 EOE

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.

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