Senior Legal Counsel – Cybersecurity & Data Protection

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Job Summary:

This job participates in complex problem resolution and leads complex projects of diverse scope requiring an understanding of current business trends. They determine methods and procedures for new or special assignments, and their initiatives often result in global process improvements.

Job Description:

Essential Responsibilities:

• Provide clear, pragmatic, and solution-oriented legal advice to enable business strategy while managing legal risk.
• Participate in complex problem resolution, providing expert legal advice on high-stakes issues and disputes.
• Ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations.
• Partner with business counterparts across the enterprise to help drive the delivery of effective legal services.
• Manage legal risks and safeguard PayPal's legal interests, developing comprehensive risk management frameworks.
• Escalate complex issues to senior legal leadership where appropriate.

PayPal’s Legal team is looking for an experienced, highly-engaged, and collaborative cybersecurity lawyer to serve as Legal Counsel, Cybersecurity & Data Protection. this role will include: helping manage data security incidents, providing guidance to global teams on cybersecurity issues, researching global regulatory obligations & tracking global regulatory submissions, and generally providing relevant guidance.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Lead functional projects and programs, ensuring alignment with business objectives and legal requirements.
• Provide specialized legal advice and support, particularly in high-demand areas such as incident response, data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
• Identify issues and recommend best practices, leveraging industry knowledge and legal expertise to guide decision-making.
• Ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations, implementing robust compliance programs and conducting regular audits.
• Manage legal risks and safeguard PayPal's legal interests, developing strategies to address emerging legal challenges.
• Represent PayPal in litigation and other legal proceedings, collaborating with external counsel and managing case strategies.

Your profile

Minimum Qualifications:

• 8+ years relevant experience and a Juris doctorate degree OR Any equivalent combination of education and experience.

Additional Responsibilities & Preferred Qualifications:

The ideal candidate has 8+ years of incident response, crisis management, data security, data protection, and cybersecurity governance experience and a strong grasp of online technologies. They must be skilled at translating legal concepts into practical advice and an active driver of solutions. They must thrive in a cross-functional, fast-moving environment.

Expected Qualifications:

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience and a Juris doctorate or equivalent degree.

Preferred Qualifications**:

• Demonstrated experience managing data security incidents from a legal perspective and operating within an enterprise incident response program, including incident scoping, privilege preservation, identifying applicable legal obligations, coordinating cross-functional teams, and managing outside counsel under compressed timelines.
• Proven ability to manage concurrent multijurisdictional incidents involving cross-border notification obligations across legal, regulatory, and merchant/consumer communication workstreams.
• Experience managing regulatory reporting timelines and drafting notifications compliant with ICO, EU supervisory authority, FCA, and U.S. regulatory requirements.
• Cybersecurity subject matter expertise with knowledge of cybersecurity and data protection regulations and frameworks (e.g., NIST Cybersecurity Framework, ISO 27001, GDPR, SOC 2, or CCPA) especially those related to financial institutions.
• Knowledge of cutting-edge IT, web, mobile, and payment ecosystem technologies (especially those used in the collection, storage and analysis of data) and their data security implications.
• Excellent project management skills, well organized, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced work environment and manage numerous projects simultaneously under deadline pressure.
• A high-level of intellectual, professional and interpersonal agility and flexibility, combined with sound judgment, curiosity, and high tolerance for ambiguity.
• Team oriented, with ability to keep a cool head, empathy, and a sense of humor in busy and high-pressured environments.
• Fintech experience preferred but not required.

We offer

Subsidiary:

PayPal

Travel Percent:

0

PayPal does not charge candidates any fees for courses, applications, resume reviews, interviews, background checks, or onboarding. When making an application directly, we will never ask you to share passwords, one-time passcodes (OTP), or verification codes. Any such request is a red flag and likely part of a scam. All communication regarding your application will come from official PayPal email domains. If you suspect fraudulent activity, please report it immediately. To learn more about how to identify and avoid recruitment fraud please visit https://careers.pypl.com/contact-us .

For the majority of employees, PayPal's balanced hybrid work model offers 3 days in the office for effective in-person collaboration and 2 days at your choice of either the PayPal office or your home workspace, ensuring that you equally have the benefits and conveniences of both locations.

Our Benefits:

At PayPal, we’re committed to building an equitable and inclusive global economy. And we can’t do this without our most important asset-you. That’s why we offer comprehensive, choice-based programs, to support all aspects of personal wellbeing—physical, emotional, and financial—delivering meaningful value where it matters most. We strive to create a flexible, balanced work culture with a holistic approach to benefits, including generous paid time off, healthcare coverage for you and your family, and resources to create financial security and support your mental health.

Who We Are:

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

PayPal provides equal employment opportunity (EEO) to all persons regardless of age, color, national origin, citizenship status, physical or mental disability, race, religion, creed, gender, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, genetic information, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. In addition, PayPal will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are unable to submit an application because of incompatible assistive technology or a disability, please contact us at .

Belonging at PayPal:

Our employees are central to advancing our mission, and we strive to create an environment where everyone can do their best work with a sense of purpose and belonging. Belonging at PayPal means creating a workplace with a sense of acceptance and security where all employees feel included and valued. We are proud to have a diverse workforce reflective of the merchants, consumers, and communities that we serve, and we continue to take tangible actions to cultivate inclusivity and belonging at PayPal.

Any general requests for consideration of your skills, please Join our Talent Community.

We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates.

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• *We know the confidence gap and imposter syndrome can get in the way of meeting spectacular candidates. Please don't hesitate to apply.

Please don’t hesitate to apply.

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Source: Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), table; dl-de/by-2-0; StarIn's calculation