Convergent Research General Counsel

Convergent Research is a non-profit science studio best known for pioneering the Focused Research Organization (FRO). We architect pivotal infrastructure that removes bottlenecks to breakthrough scientific research.

FROs are a new operating model for science that ensures rapid iteration cycles and high-throughput learning. Convergent secures funding and provides an operational backbone for counterfactual R&D, creating space for scientists to do what they do best. FRO teams are agile, creative, and risk-tolerant as a result. They make fast progress because they start and stay focused.

About the Role

Convergent Research has grown significantly since its founding—from a scrappy early-stage org to a 200-person, $100M-spend nonprofit with 13 subsidiary FROs, entities in the UK, a growing IP portfolio, active licensing deals, and a portfolio of organizations approaching graduation into the world. We're not running on the same legal playbook we started with and we want to position ourselves and our legal department for the future.

We're looking for a General Counsel who is a strategic partner to Convergent's leadership—someone who sees around corners, builds systems that make the whole organization more capable, and knows how to be a smart, creative enabler rather than a gatekeeper. You'll own the legal function at the enterprise level, set the IP and risk strategy, manage a growing team, and be a first call—not a last resort—for complex decisions.

This role sits in the senior leadership team. You will manage a small but growing legal function that includes an FRO General Counsel and a part time contracts counsel handling day-to-day contract work across the portfolio. We have an idea of how the workload will be divided across these functions, but will be looking to you to help operationalize and refine the division of  the duties and responsibilities of each role. You'll also own Convergent's relationships with a roster of specialized outside counsel.

• A strategic thinker with a builder's instinct – You don't wait to be handed problems. You scan the horizon, identify what's coming, and help the organization get ahead of it. When someone says "we want to do X," your default is curiosity about how to make it work—not reasons it can't.
• An experienced corporate attorney – J.D. and active bar membership in at least one U.S. state, with 10+ years of practice. Your foundation is in corporate or commercial law—you know how deals are structured, how to manage volume and complexity, and how to deploy outside counsel efficiently. Nonprofit or research-sector experience is a strong plus; familiarity with 501(c)(3) compliance, disregarded entities, and exempt org law is important, whether that comes from direct experience or your ability to get up to speed quickly.
• Proactive on risk—not reactive to it – You identify compliance exposure, structural vulnerabilities, and deal risks before they surface as crises. You have a framework for when to escalate and when to resolve, and you help the organization understand that being "squared away" on the easy stuff creates room to take smart risks elsewhere.

• A skilled resource manager – You know how to pick the right firm for the right work, negotiate rates, and make sure your outside counsel is actually adding value. You treat legal spend as a resource to be optimized, not just a cost to be approved.

• Comfortable with structural complexity – Convergent is a nonprofit fiscal sponsor with 13 single-member LLC subsidiaries, UK entities, government contracts, philanthropic funding, IP licensing, and spinout transactions—all happening simultaneously. If that sounds like a lot, it is. You're not rattled by it.

• Clear and decisive – You communicate legal advice in terms that non-lawyers can act on. You know when to say no, and you make "no" count by saying it rarely. When you find a path forward, you say so with confidence.

• A people-leader and relationship-builder – You'll manage a small legal team, work closely with FRO CEOs, and serve as a trusted partner to Convergent's leadership. You invest in those relationships, give candid feedback, and hold yourself to the same standard you hold others.

Convergent Research is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that proudly pursues and hires a diverse workforce. We do not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious belief, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local, state, or federal law or company policy. We strive for a healthy and safe workplace and strictly prohibit harassment of any kind.