At Blue Bottle, our mission is to connect the world to delicious coffee. From seed to cup, we elevate the craft of coffee in everything we do. We strive to build a better tomorrow by investing in what matters: a sustainable future for our people, the company, and our planet.
About the job
The Senior Attorney will join our in-house legal team. Reporting directly to the General Counsel, you will serve as a trusted business partner across the organization—advising on corporate transactions, employment matters, and the privacy implications of our expanding digital and loyalty platforms. This role offers meaningful ownership, a collaborative culture, and the chance to shape legal strategy for a fast-growing company at a pivotal moment.
This position requires broad legal expertise across multiple disciplines, including corporate governance, regulatory compliance, employment law, intellectual property, data privacy, litigation management, commercial contracting, and real estate. The Senior Attorney will exercise independent judgment while collaborating with global stakeholders to ensure legal compliance and support business objectives across multiple jurisdictions.
The Senior Attorney will join our in-house legal team. Reporting directly to the General Counsel, you will serve as a trusted business partner across the organization—advising on corporate transactions, employment matters, and the privacy implications of our expanding digital and loyalty platforms. This role offers meaningful ownership, a collaborative culture, and the chance to shape legal strategy for a fast-growing company at a pivotal moment.
This position requires broad legal expertise across multiple disciplines, including corporate governance, regulatory compliance, employment law, intellectual property, data privacy, litigation management, commercial contracting, and real estate. The Senior Attorney will exercise independent judgment while collaborating with global stakeholders to ensure legal compliance and support business objectives across multiple jurisdictions.
Candidates for this role are required to be based within 50 miles of one of the following established Blue Bottle Coffee geographic locations: The San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles
You Will:
- Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of commercial agreements including supplier contracts, real estate leases, licensing arrangements, and partnership agreements.
- Support corporate governance activities including board meeting preparation, entity management across multiple jurisdictions, and subsidiary structuring.
- Advise on regulatory compliance matters affecting multi-state retail operations, food and beverage regulations, and franchise law.
- Work closely with Finance, Operations, and Business Development teams to provide timely, practical legal guidance on day-to-day transactions.
- Manage a wide range of labor and employment matters including wage and hour compliance, workplace investigations, disciplinary actions, and terminations.
- Advise HR on hiring practices, employee classification (exempt/non-exempt, employee/contractor), leave administration, and accommodation requests.
- Handle employment-related disputes including demand letters, EEOC charges, state agency complaints, and civil litigation, coordinating with outside counsel as appropriate.
- Draft and maintain employment policies, handbooks, and training materials that reflect current federal, state, and local law requirements.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments in employment and labor law across key operating states and proactively advise the business on required adjustments.
- Support union-related matters and collective bargaining processes where applicable.
- Serve as a primary legal resource on data privacy and security matters, advising on compliance with CPRA, CCPA, and other applicable US and international privacy regulations.
- Review and negotiate data processing agreements, SaaS contracts, and technology vendor agreements with a focus on data risk allocation and security obligations.
- Partner with the Technology, Marketing, and Customer Loyalty teams to conduct privacy impact assessments and implement privacy-by-design principles.
- Develop and maintain internal data privacy policies, records of processing activities, and incident response protocols.
- Lead the company's response to data subject requests and coordinate breach notification procedures in compliance with applicable law.
- Monitor emerging privacy legislation and regulatory guidance, advising leadership on compliance implications and required policy updates.
- Manage outside counsel relationships and legal spend across practice areas.
- Assist the General Counsel with special projects, board-level matters, and cross-functional legal initiatives.
- Contribute to building and refining legal department processes, templates, and knowledge management systems.
Corporate & Commercial
Labor & Employment
Data Privacy & Technology
General Legal Support
You Are:
- Comfortable with Structured Autonomy. You are confident in managing the full breadth of day-to-day US legal matters independently, and equally comfortable operating within a clear governance framework where material decisions are made in partnership with senior management. You escalate proactively and see close collaboration with leadership as a strength, not a constraint.
- A Cross-Cultural Communicator. You possess exceptional communication skills and emotional intelligence, enabling you to translate complex U.S. legal concepts into clear business guidance for global stakeholders across cultures and time zones.
- A Collaborative Partner. You enjoy mentoring business teams, increasing legal and risk awareness, and building trusted relationships across corporate and retail functions. You are viewed as a strategic business partner who enables informed decision-making.
- Committed to Excellence. You have developed deep legal expertise throughout your career and are motivated by ownership, continuous learning, and the opportunity to serve as the primary legal advisor supporting a dynamic and growing U.S. business.
You Have:
- Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school, active bar admission, and good standing to practice law in California or New York.
- 8-10 years of post-qualification experience (PQE), with a meaningful mix of law firm and in-house legal experience preferred.
- Demonstrated expertise across at least two of the three core practice areas: corporate/commercial, labor and employment, and data privacy.
- Strong transactional skills with hands-on experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
- Solid understanding of US employment law across multiple jurisdictions, including familiarity with California employment requirements.
- Practical knowledge of US data privacy frameworks, particularly CCPA/CPRA, and experience advising on digital products and consumer data programs.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to explain legal concepts clearly to non-legal business partners.
- Highly organized, self-directed, and comfortable managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.
- In-house experience at a consumer retail, food and beverage, restaurant, hospitality, or franchise business.
- Familiarity with franchise disclosure documents (FDDs), franchise regulation, and multi-unit franchise operations.
- Proficiency in Mandarin Chinese (written and spoken) is a plus, as the role involves communication with counterparts and stakeholders in connection with the company's international sourcing operations and business expansion activities.
Required
Preferred
A few benefits we offer:
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage for eligible employees starting on your first day
- 401(k) plan
- Paid time off & paid volunteer hours
- 50% discount on all products, both online and in-cafe; this includes food, beverages, whole-bean coffee, and merchandise
- Flexible spending account & commuter benefits
- Employee Assistance Program
- Additional benefits information
At Blue Bottle Coffee, you’ll be a vital part of our guests’ experience and a crucial link in delivering the most delicious coffee we can find to every person who walks through our doors, be it in person or online. If you’re ready to bring beautiful and thoughtfully rendered experiences to life, please apply and join us.
Blue Bottle is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value an open mind, dedication to work, and a collaborative spirit. We hire based on these qualities, a job’s requirements, our business’s needs, and an applicant’s qualifications. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind in the hiring process or in the workplace.
We comply with the ADA and provide reasonable accommodations that allow qualified applicants/employees to perform the essential functions of the job. We also provide reasonable religious accommodations to applicants/employees to allow them to practice their bona fide religious beliefs. To request an accommodation, contact your People Partner.
We may refuse to hire relatives of present employees if doing so could result in actual or potential problems in supervision, security, safety, or morale, or if doing so could create other conflicts of interest.
We will consider employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
We participate in E-Verify. We will provide the federal government with employees’ Form I-9 information to confirm authorization to work in the U.S. We will only use E-Verify once an employee has accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.