Description:

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.