Legal Associate

Location: Remote, U.S. — East Coast HoursReports to: Chief Legal Officer / Legal CounselExperience: 3–5 yearsAbout Virtual IncentivesVirtual Incentives (VI) is a leading digital incentives and payments technology company helping businesses deliver rewards, incentives, and payouts to people around the world.

Our platform enables enterprises to deliver digital Visa and Mastercard products, eGiftCards, cash-like rewards, and global payouts through a highly configurable technology platform and API.We operate at the intersection of fintech, payments, technology, and consumer engagement. Our mission is to uncomplicate global payments for enterprises and build innovative technology that makes rewards and payouts faster, easier, and more accessible.The OpportunityWe’re looking for a Legal Associate / Counsel to join our small, high-impact Legal team. This is an excellent opportunity for an attorney with 3–5 years of experience who wants broad, hands-on experience supporting a growing fintech and payments business.You’ll work closely with our Chief Legal Officer/Legal Counsel and Paralegal across commercial contracting, compliance, corporate matters, regulatory issues, product and payments, intellectual property, privacy, unclaimed property, and general business operations.This is not a role where you’ll simply review documents and pass them along. We’re looking for someone who takes ownership, exercises sound judgment, works directly with business partners, and helps build scalable legal processes as the company grows.The ideal candidate is a practical, flexible, business-minded attorney who can balance legal risk with the realities of a growing technology and payments company. You’re highly organized, trustworthy, discreet, and motivated to improve how Legal works through automation, self-service, and better processes.What You’ll DoCommercial & ContractingDraft, review, and negotiate commercial agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, vendor agreements, partner agreements, NDAs, DPAs, and other customer contracts.Support the CLO on more complex or higher-risk agreements.Partner with Sales, Client Success, Finance, Product, and Operations to move agreements forward efficiently.Identify recurring contracting issues and develop templates, playbooks, fallback language, and processes.Increase self-service and automation in routine contracting while maintaining appropriate legal controls.Maintain and improve contract management processes and documentation.Compliance, Payments & Regulatory SupportSupport the maintenance and improvement of VI’s legal and compliance programs.Assist with policy development, risk assessments, monitoring, documentation, training, and compliance processes.Research federal and state laws and regulations affecting payments, prepaid products, rewards, gift cards, money movement, consumer protection, privacy, and related areas.Develop a working understanding of unclaimed property laws and requirements, including their application to gift cards, incentives, rewards, and other applicable products.Assist with unclaimed property research, compliance activities, reporting, and related operational processes.Provide legal review of new products, product enhancements, customer use cases, and business initiatives.Work cross-functionally to identify legal and regulatory considerations early.Monitor relevant legal, regulatory, card-network, and industry developments.Assist with regulatory, banking partner, processor, network, and third-party diligence requests.Help translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical, scalable business processes.Corporate & General LegalSupport corporate governance, entity management, board materials, corporate records, and other corporate matters.Support intellectual property, privacy, data protection, and information security matters.Assist with employment-related legal matters in partnership with People/HR and the CLO.Support litigation, disputes, claims, and other legal matters, including coordination with outside counsel.Conduct legal research and prepare concise analyses, memoranda, and recommendations.Legal Operations & Process ImprovementCreate and maintain scalable legal processes, templates, checklists, playbooks, and self-service resources.Maintain highly organized legal files, matter documentation, compliance records, and other legal information.Identify opportunities to automate repetitive work, simplify processes, and increase self-service.Partner with Legal, Compliance, Technology, and business teams to implement tools and workflows that improve visibility, consistency, speed, and efficiency.Continuously ask: “Is there a better, faster, or more scalable way to do this?”What We’re Looking ForJ.D. from an accredited law school.Admission to at least one U.S. state bar in good standing.3–5 years of legal experience, ideally including meaningful commercial contracting and/or in-house experience.Experience drafting and reviewing commercial contracts.Strong legal research, writing, analytical, and communication skills.Excellent organizational skills and strong follow-through.Ability to manage multiple matters, deadlines, and priorities with accuracy.Strong judgment and ability to distinguish what can be handled independently from what should be escalated.Comfortable working directly with non-legal stakeholders and translating legal concepts into practical business guidance.Trustworthiness and discretion when handling confidential and commercially sensitive information.Ability to work independently in a remote environment while remaining highly collaborative.Preferred ExperienceExperience in one or more of the following is a plus:Fintech, payments, financial services, or technologyPrepaid cards, gift cards, incentives, rewards, or money movementPayments processing or payment networksFinancial services regulatory mattersPrivacy and data protectionSaaS or technology contractingUnclaimed property laws and complianceCompliance program supportCommercial transactions or corporate governanceWorking with banks, processors, card networks, or financial services partnersPayments or fintech experience is not required. We’re particularly interested in candidates with strong legal fundamentals, commercial instincts, curiosity, and the ability to quickly develop expertise in our industry.What Will Make You SuccessfulYou are a business partner. You help the business understand risk, identify options, and find a practical path forward.You take ownership. You don’t just identify an issue—you figure out what needs to happen next and drive it to resolution.You have good judgment and discretion. You can be trusted with sensitive information and know when to dig deeper, solve pragmatically, or involve the CLO or outside counsel.You are curious. You enjoy learning about new products, payment models, regulations, and technologies.You’re comfortable with ambiguity. You can build solutions when processes or answers don’t already exist.You look for better ways to work. You actively seek opportunities to automate, simplify workflows, create self-service resources, and make Legal more efficient and scalable.You communicate clearly. You can make complex legal issues understandable and actionable for Sales, Product, Technology, Operations, and executive leaders.You’re a team player. Our Legal team is intentionally small. Everyone pitches in, and we value people who are willing to jump into whatever needs to get done.Why Join Virtual Incentives?Work on interesting legal issues at the intersection of fintech, payments, technology, and global commerce.Join a small Legal team where your work will have meaningful visibility and impact.Work directly with experienced legal leadership and gain broad in-house experience.Develop expertise in a rapidly evolving payments environment.Work remotely with a distributed team across the U.S.Join a company that values ownership, curiosity, trust, and results.Compensation & Work ScheduleThe anticipated base salary range is $135,000–$173,000, depending on experience, qualifications, location, and other factors. This position is also eligible for an annual performance-based bonus and benefits.This is a fully remote U.S. position. Candidates should be able to work primarily during East Coast business hours, approximately 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. ET.Equal OpportunityVirtual Incentives is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where employees can do their best work and contribute to the company’s success.Qualified candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Virtual Incentives is unable to provide employment visa sponsorship for this position.