Senior Counsel - Litigation & Product

About Torc

At Torc, we have always believed that autonomous vehicle technology will transform how we travel, move freight, and do business. A leader in autonomous driving since 2007, Torc has spent over a decade commercializing our solutions with experienced partners. Now a part of the Daimler family, we are focused solely on developing software for automated trucks to transform how the world moves freight. Join us and catapult your career with the company that helped pioneer autonomous technology, and the first AV software company with the vision to partner directly with a truck manufacturer.

About the Role

As Torc advances toward commercial deployment of its Level 4 autonomous trucking platform, we're looking for an experienced litigator and product counselor to own our litigation function and serve as a key product counseling partner. Reporting to the Associate General Counsel – Litigation & Commercial, you'll manage Torc's active litigation, build the processes that keep the company litigation-ready, and serve as a trusted legal partner to our Engineering, Product, and Safety & Regulatory teams (including Government Affairs).

This is an ownership role on a lean, high-performing legal team at a pivotal moment in the company's history. Beyond managing the docket, you'll build and maintain Torc's litigation readiness infrastructure, including the playbooks and protocols needed for driver-out operations. Over time, you'll also grow into Torc's regulatory legal work, partnering with our Safety & Regulatory team and outside regulatory counsel on NHTSA and FMCSA matters. Deep AV regulatory expertise isn't required on day one, but curiosity and a willingness to learn are.

What You'll Do: 

Litigation and incident response

• Own Torc's litigation docket end to end: oversee outside counsel, manage budgets, set strategy, and drive resolution in alignment with the General Counsel and business stakeholders
• Build and run Torc's litigation readiness program, including legal hold procedures (issuance, custodian communication, and releases), litigation response playbooks, and evidence preservation protocols
• Serve as the legal lead on Torc's cross-functional incident response team, coordinating with Safety & Regulatory, Engineering, Communications, and others when incidents occur
• Develop litigation readiness frameworks for driver-out commercial operations, including protocols for incidents involving the autonomous driving system and for recalls
• Manage Torc's outside litigation counsel panel, including selection, engagement terms, billing guideline compliance, and performance
• Report on litigation exposure and trends to the General Counsel and senior leadership
• Advise on how record retention, insurance, and cybersecurity intersect with litigation readiness and incident response

Product counseling

• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Safety & Regulatory teams to spot and mitigate legal risk early in the development cycle, including in safety case documentation and commercial launch activities
• Advise on product liability exposure arising from Torc's autonomous driving system
• Support regulatory reporting, including NHTSA Standing General Order crash reporting, defect and recall reporting, and Early Warning Reporting
• Provide legal analysis to Torc's safety governance bodies on product release decisions and safety artifact requirements
• Work with Government Affairs and outside regulatory counsel to turn evolving federal, state, and international AV regulation into practical guidance for internal teams, and assess what it means for litigation risk
• Advise on go-to-market issues as Torc moves from testing to commercial freight operations, including operational design domain limitations, risk allocation in customer agreements, and fleet partner requirements
• Review external communications, technical publications, and customer-facing materials for legal risk
• Build working expertise over time in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, ADS exemption processes, and FMCSA commercial vehicle safety requirements, in partnership with Government Affairs and outside counsel

Supporting the Legal team

• Contribute to legal department process improvements, playbook development, and knowledge management

What You'll Need to Succeed:

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing of at least one U.S. state bar
• 7+ years of legal experience, with meaningful exposure to litigation management, product liability, or related practice areas
• A track record of managing litigation and outside counsel, including budgeting, strategy, and resolution
• Experience building or maintaining litigation readiness infrastructure, such as legal hold programs and incident response protocols
• Sound judgment and the ability to give clear, practical advice in a fast-moving, technically complex environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain complex legal concepts to executives, engineers, and other non-lawyers
• A collaborative style and the ability to earn trust with Engineering, Safety, Product, and Operations teams
• An owner's mindset: you're comfortable building and running a function, not just working within one
• Genuine curiosity about complex technology and interest in developing regulatory expertise over time
• Availability to respond on short notice, including occasional evenings and weekends, when incidents or urgent matters arise
• Integrity and discretion in handling sensitive and privileged information

Preferred Qualifications

• In-house experience at a technology company, automotive OEM, Tier 1 automotive supplier, or advanced mobility company
• Experience advising on product liability for hardware-software systems in regulated, safety-critical industries (e.g., automotive, aviation, medical devices, industrial automation)
• Familiarity with NHTSA, FMCSA, or other federal transportation safety frameworks
• Experience working alongside a Government Affairs function on regulatory matters

Work Location and Travel

This role is fully remote and open to candidates based anywhere in the U.S. You'll work with colleagues across multiple time zones and at our Blacksburg, VA, Fort Worth, TX, and Ann Arbor, MI sites, with occasional travel to those locations (estimated 5-10% of the time). Occasional international travel, including to Montreal, may also come up, so the ability to obtain a passport is required.

Perks of Being a Full-time Torc'r

Torc cares about our team members and we strive to provide benefits and resources to support their health, work/life balance, and future. Our culture is collaborative, energetic, and team focused. Torc offers:

• A competitive compensation package that includes a bonus component and stock options
• 100% paid medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees
• 401K plan with a 6% employer match
• Flexibility in schedule and generous paid vacation (available immediately after start date)
• Company-wide holiday office closures
• AD+D and Life Insurance

At Torc, we're committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. We celebrate the uniqueness of our Torc'rs and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, veteran status, or disabilities.

Even if you don't meet 100% of the qualifications listed for this opportunity, we encourage you to apply.

Our compensation reflects the cost of labor across several geographic markets. Pay is based on a number of factors and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Torc's total compensation package will also include our corporate bonus and stock option plan. Dependent on the position offered, sign-on payments, relocation, and other forms of compensation may be provided as part of a total compensation package, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

Job ID: R-102984

Hiring Range for Job Opening

US Pay Range: $221,900– $266,300 USD