Corporate Counsel

Location

New York City HQ; California - Hybrid; Remote

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

Hybrid

Department

Operations

Compensation

$180K – $280K • Offers Equity

OverviewApplication

Join us as we deploy our ai-native, end-to-end vehicle commerce platform across the entire industry.

Proven scale: Tens of millions in vehicle revenue processed for 20+ leading brands and dealerships to date.
Trusted by all tiers: From publicly traded OEMs with billions in annual GMV to fast-growing newcomers and a broad dealer network.
Backed to win: $17.2M raised from Activant Capital, JPMorgan, Winnebago, Y Combinator, the Tesla alumni fund, large dealership groups, and other strategic investors.

Position Overview

Ekho is operating at the intersection of automotive retail, fintech, and technology — and the regulatory landscape we navigate is complex, fast-moving, and highly consequential. As we expand into new states, add licensure, and build out F&I and ancillary products, we need sharp, experienced in-house legal coverage to keep us ahead of the curve. You'll work directly with our CEO and leadership team to identify and address legal issues proactively. This includes flagging compliance risks before they become problems, owning our licensing strategy, and coordinating with DMV regulators and other agencies. You'll partner with our outside counsel on complex matters, but handle the day-to-day questions and emerging issues that come with building a high-growth automotive tech company at scale. This is a rare opportunity to be the founding legal hire at a well-funded, fast-moving company and to grow the role as we do.

Required Skills & Experience

5–10+ years of legal experience with a meaningful focus on automotive regulatory compliance, ideally in-house at a large dealer group, OEM, or automotive technology company.
Deep familiarity with motor vehicle dealer licensing requirements across multiple U.S. states, including DMV licensing, dealer licensing, and titling and registration workflows.
Working knowledge of sales and use tax issues in automotive transactions across state lines.
Experience with brokering regulations, money transmission licensing, and related compliance frameworks.
Familiarity with F&I (Finance & Insurance) products and the regulatory landscape governing them.
Demonstrated ability to advise in highly regulated states (California, New York, Texas, or equivalent).
Comfortable representing a company in front of DMV representatives, state regulators, and other agencies.
AI fluency: demonstrated experience using AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Harvey, or similar) to enhance legal research... drafting... decision-making. Ability to operate as an “AI-native” operator who leverages these tools for speed... accuracy... scale.
Strong written and verbal communication skills to distill complex regulatory issues into clear guidance the business can act on.
J.D.... from an ABA-accredited U.S.... law school... active licensure to practice law in at least one U.S.... state (in good standing).

Responsibilities

Own Ekho's multi-state automotive regulatory compliance strategy... including dealer licensing... DMV licensing... related permitting across all active... target states.
Advise leadership on emerging legal issues as Ekho expands into new products (F&I... insurance... ancillary services)... new geographies.
Participate directly in meetings with DMV regulators... state agencies... licensing bodies... acting as an effective advocate... credible voice for Ekho.
Partner with our outside counsel on complex matters while handling day-to-day questions independently... reducing reliance on outside counsel for routine issues.
Proactively flag compliance risks during internal brainstorming... product development.
Manage... maintain Ekho's dealer licensure ensuring requirements are met...
Build repeatable legal processes playbooks as company scales laying foundation for broader legal function over time.

Preferred Qualifications

Background at large multi-state dealer group automotive legal association or automotive tech company.
Experience navigating DMV dealer licensing processes highly regulated states (California New York Texas etc.)
Familiarity powersports regulations plus.
Experience startups high-growth companies businesses undergoing rapid geographic expansion.
Located or willing present state where Ekho holds or pursuing dealership license.

Company Benefits

Competitive compensation meaningful equity
Health dental vision insurance
401k
Free lunch dinners
Annual team offsite