Director of Legal, Compliance

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in United States.

📋 Description

• Take complete ownership of the current compliance program and enhance it across both iBynd and SEMSEE entities — including written policies and procedures, training, monitoring, internal auditing, producer oversight, anti-fraud and AML obligations, and the compliance committee's schedule.

• Identify compliance deficiencies, prioritize them based on risk, and address them. Establish what 'good' looks like for this company at its next growth stage and implement the necessary controls to achieve that.

• Supervise state regulatory and licensing requirements across all operating states — ensuring entity licenses, producer/P&C licenses, and surplus lines broker licenses are fully current, accurate, and ready for audit.

• Provide guidance on tax compliance in collaboration with accounting, ensuring that state obligations, surplus lines tax filings, and relevant programs are properly maintained and supervised.

• Lead the negotiation of carrier appointments, binding authority and program agreements, reinsurance treaties when applicable, MGA arrangements, and all related vendor, partner, and technology contracts.

• Develop contract templates, playbooks, and intake processes that empower the business to operate swiftly without compromising essential protections on critical terms.

• Act as the primary legal liaison for carrier counterparties, MGA/MGU partners, and third-party vendors regarding all contractual and relational matters.

• Manage relationships with outside counsel for litigation support, specialized regulatory issues, and jurisdictions that necessitate local bar membership.

• Provide advice and conduct ongoing legal reviews of the company's digital platform, focusing on privacy obligations, AI/ML governance in underwriting, and data handling practices.

• Oversee the company's privacy compliance program under GLBA and relevant state privacy laws, ensuring that policies, notices, and data practices remain current and enforceable.

• Keep abreast of the changing AI and algorithmic accountability landscape and inform leadership about compliance implications for the company's platform and operations.

• Collaborate with technology and product teams to incorporate legal and compliance requirements into new platform features and data initiatives from the beginning.

• Manage the full spectrum of matters typically handled by a sole in-house counsel: commercial contracts, employment issues, corporate governance, claims and E&O escalations, and regulatory correspondence.

• Advise leadership on legal risks associated with business decisions — able to differentiate between risks that necessitate a stop sign and those that require a seatbelt.

• Interact with DOI examiners, carrier counterparties, underwriters, engineers, and external advisors as needed, seamlessly transitioning between different audiences within the same day.

• Other duties as assigned.

⛳️ Requirements

• JD from an accredited law school and active membership in at least one US jurisdiction; New York bar membership is preferred.

• 8–10 years of combined experience in law firms and in-house legal roles.

• Direct experience in the insurance industry is essential — including insurtech, carrier, or MGA.

• Familiarity with surplus lines regulation, producer licensing, and the wholesale distribution model; experience with MGA, MGU, or program business is highly preferred.

• Proven experience in negotiating carrier binding authority, program agreements, and/or vendor contracts.

• Experience in managing a compliance program — either as the owner, a key contributor, or as someone who has inherited and developed one.

• Strong commercial judgment and the capability to function as a sole practitioner within a fast-paced environment: able to prioritize decisively, decline when necessary, and make decisions independently.

• Comfortable in a technology-driven setting — knowledgeable about how software, data, and AI integrate into contemporary insurance operations.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills suitable for a diverse range of audiences, including regulators, carriers, underwriters, and engineers.

🏝️ Benefits

• Health insurance

• 401(k) matching

• Flexible work hours

• Paid time off

• Remote work options