Senior Counsel, Privacy

Posted May 14

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

Airbnb’s Legal Department is a global team that will require working with diverse international colleagues around the world. The successful candidate will be someone who is adaptable, collaborative and embodies Airbnb’s Core Values. Candidates will be required to approach complex legal issues with a balance for local and global perspectives, while being adaptable to cultural differences and nuances. A genuine and demonstrated interest in Airbnb and a commitment to ethics, integrity and fostering a workplace that emphasizes diversity and belonging is a must.

The Community You Will Join: 

The corporate legal team advises on legal issues related to public disclosures, securities compliance, equity awards, corporate governance, 21C matters and corporate development transactions. The privacy legal team advises on privacy compliance and, in the event of a possible privacy incident, reporting and remediation. In addition, the corporate team helps with project management for large, cross functional projects.

The Difference You Will Make:

Airbnb is seeking a business-oriented Senior Privacy Counsel with deep experience in the US and global privacy laws to join our growing legal team. You will provide expert legal advice on privacy matters, including the implications of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on data privacy.

You will play a critical role within our global privacy and cybersecurity legal team, and work across multiple global teams and regions providing support and advice to Airbnb’s business and product teams. You must have excellent judgment in balancing legal risks with business strategy and a proven ability to learn new areas of law and function independently in a demanding fast-paced environment. We’re looking for a highly adaptable and collaborative person who can handle ambiguity and rapidly shifting priorities with flexibility, patience, and poise

A Typical Day: 

  • Monitor, stay up-to-date, and advise on legal and regulatory requirements related to data privacy and support associated compliance strategies, including with respect to U.S. privacy laws.
  • Collaborate with international privacy counsels to provide focused and pragmatic advice on the implementation and impact of global privacy laws.
  • Collaborate with legal colleagues responsible for strategy around our interactions with data protection authorities to ensure that regulatory requirements are properly incorporated into product development.
  • Provide advice and counsel to the Privacy Operations team on the implementation of global privacy compliance requirements related to data subject request process and escalations, and other data governance and data lifecycle management projects.
  • Assist product lawyers, product managers, and engineers, in evaluating the impact of privacy laws, regulatory guidance and enforcement actions, and other related guidelines on product features.
  • Conduct privacy reviews to assess the impact of new projects, products, and technologies on user privacy, including those leveraging AI and machine learning.
  • Support commercial legal teams in drafting and negotiating vendor/supplier and other commercial contracts. 
  • Provide support on a wide variety of privacy issues related to international data transfers, data sharing, third-party privacy risk management, payment processing, insurance, employment, electronic communications, and marketing such as consent requirements and cookie compliance.

Your Expertise:

  • J.D. from accredited law school required.
  • Licensed to practice law in the United States CIPP certifications from the International Association of Privacy Professionals is preferred.
  • At least 7 years post-qualification experience, with significant relevant privacy/data protection law experience at a law firm or in-house corporate environment in a multinational organization, preferably in the tech / digital space.
  • Strong academic credentials.
  • Substantive knowledge and demonstrated expertise in US privacy and global data protection law.
  • Technical experience or an engineering background with strong understanding of AI and machine learning concepts.
  • Exceptional ability to consistently deliver creative, thoughtful and business-oriented results that appropriately balance growth and risk in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment.
  • Intellectually curious, open-minded, adaptable, comfortable with ambiguity and risk, and excited by dynamic change and solving problems.
  • Ability to work both collaboratively and autonomously while prioritizing competing tasks in a fast-paced, challenging environment.
  • Willingness to work outside of traditional hours in order to collaborate with colleagues based around the world.
  • High level of integrity, professionalism, intellectual curiosity, sense of humor, and willingness to grow.
  • Fluency in English is essential. Additional languages are a significant advantage.

Your Location:

This position is US - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed to with your manager. While the position is Remote Eligible, you must live in a state where Airbnb, Inc. has a registered entity. Click here for the up-to-date list of excluded states. This list is continuously evolving, so please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. If your position is employed by another Airbnb entity, your recruiter will inform you what states you are eligible to work from.

Our Commitment To Inclusion & Belonging:

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. We believe diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement, and allow us to attract creatively-led people, and to develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

We strive to also provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in order to submit an application, please contact us at: reasonableaccommodations@airbnb.com. Please include your full name, the role you’re applying for and the accommodation necessary to assist you with the recruiting process. 

We ask that you only reach out to us if you are a candidate whose disability prevents you from being able to complete our online application.

How We'll Take Care of You:

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits. 

Pay Range

$205,000—$249,000 USD