Y Combinator Legal Operations Manager, Vendor & Spend Management
Ready to do the most impactful work of your career? At Coinbase, we are uncompromising on our mission to increase economic freedom. The bar is high, the environment is intense, and we like it that way. This isn't a place for complacency, it’s a place to be pushed past your perceived limits. If you're ready to build the future of finance alongside people who refuse to settle for "good enough," you belong here. Coinbase is a remote-first, but not remote-only company. Expect to get together quarterly for intense in-person working sessions called “surges.” learn more about working at Coinbase.
As the Legal Operations Manager, Vendor & Spend Management on the Legal Operations team, you'll own the vendor management and spend optimization program that supports Coinbase's Legal, Policy, and Compliance departments. This team drives operational excellence across the legal function through standardized processes, e-billing systems, and data-driven budget management. You'll serve as the functional lead for outside counsel spend, vendor onboarding, and budget strategy, directly influencing how Coinbase manages tens of millions in annual legal spend and ensuring the department operates efficiently at scale.
What you'll do:
- Own expense management, law firm and vendor spend oversight, and annual budget planning for the Legal, Policy, and Compliance departments, delivering accurate forecasting and cost visibility to leadership.
- Own expense management, law firm and vendor spend oversight, and annual budget planning for the Legal, Policy, and Compliance departments, building automated accrual models and leveraging predictive spend analytics to deliver accurate forecasting and cost visibility to leadership.
- Drive the legal e-billing program end-to-end, including vendor and contractor onboarding, billing guideline enforcement, engagement letter review, and conflicts of interest processes.
- Build and maintain a top-tier law firm panel program and spend optimization strategy, including benchmarking billing rates, negotiating alternative fee arrangements, and evaluating firm performance against delivery and cost targets.
- Partner with legal department leadership on budget strategy, advising on law firm selection, resource allocation, and cost-reduction opportunities backed by spend data and trend analysis.
- Lead the relationship with FP&A on invoicing, accruals, and month-end financial processes, ensuring accuracy and timeliness across all legal vendor-related financial workflows.
- Administer and optimize the legal e-billing system, training stakeholders on processes and use of systems, and identifying opportunities to improve workflows and data quality.
- Administer and optimize the legal e-billing system, including managing complex integrations between Brightflag and internal ERP/FP&A systems, configuring automated rule-based billing enforcement, and training stakeholders on processes to improve adoption and data quality.
Required Skills and Experience:
- Bachelor's degree with 6+ years of relevant experience at a comparable in-house legal practice, preferably at a high-growth technology company.
- Deep vendor and law firm spend management experience, including hands-on experience with e-billing platforms, law firm panel programs, and negotiating alternative fee arrangements.
- Demonstrated experience independently managing legal budgets, accruals, and forecasting processes in partnership with FP&A, including driving high law firm compliance rates for monthly accruals (e.g., 95%+ adoption targets) and implementing automated variance analysis to improve accuracy and reduce manual effort.
- Proven ability to design, implement, and improve operational processes at scale, including vendor onboarding workflows, billing guidelines, and reporting frameworks.
- Experience building reports and dashboards that translate spend data into actionable insights for legal leadership decision-making.
- Utilizes generative AI responsibly, maintaining human oversight to deliver business-ready outputs and drive measurable improvements in workflow efficiency, cost, and quality.
#LI-Remote
Pay Transparency Notice: Base salary varies by location (see range below). Total compensation may also include equity and bonus eligibility, and benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401(k)).
- Application Limit: Candidates may submit a maximum of 3 applications within a 6-month period.
- Equal Opportunity Employer: Coinbase is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or genetic information. Applicants with criminal histories will be considered consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
- US Applicants: View Employee Rights, Know Your Rights, and E-Verify Notice of Participation.
- Accommodations: If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reasonable accommodation, email us your request and contact info at accommodations[at]coinbase.com. Need screen reading technology? Click here to download a free compatible screen reader and view the tutorial.
- Data Privacy & Arbitration: By submitting your application, you agree to our Candidate Privacy Notice. US applicants: By submitting your application, you agree to Arbitration of Disputes.
Skills
As published by greenhouse · 13 questions
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
Short answers (1)
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- Are you at least 18 years of age?
- Have you previously been employed by Coinbase in any capacity?
- How did you hear about this job?
- Please confirm receipt of the above linked Global Data Privacy Notice and US Arbitration Agreement.
- I understand that Coinbase may use AI tools to assist in the application and interview process.
- Which of the following best describes how you use AI tools today?
- Are you legally authorized to work in the country where this position is located?
- Will you require sponsorship for employment visa status now or in the future?
- Are you a current government official or were you a government official in the last five years (e.g., employee of a government agency or a government owned/controlled company, holder of public office or a civil service position)?
- Are you a close relative of a government official (i.e., child/step-child, spouse/partner, parent/guardian, aunt/uncle, first cousin, in-law)?
- To your knowledge, do you or a close relative currently hold a role, have a significant financial interest in, or maintain a close personal relationship with a senior leader at a company connected to Coinbase that could create an actual or perceived conflict of interest?
- To your knowledge, were you referred to this position by a senior leader or decision‑maker at a current or prospective institutional client, business partner, or vendor of Coinbase?