Instacart is hiring: Digital Media, Ads & Marketing Counsel in San Francisco

We're transforming the grocery industry

At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. We deliver an essential service that customers rely on for groceries and household goods, while offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.

Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building a team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.

Instacart is a Flex First team

There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they work—from home, an office, or a cafe—while staying connected through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.

Overview

Instacart is seeking a dynamic and experienced Counsel to provide legal support across both our Ads (Retail Media Network) business and our Marketing function. This role involves cross-functional work with two high-impact teams, advising on a wide range of legal and business issues in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You will negotiate advertising and marketing deals and advise on legal compliance for product launches and promotional campaigns.

You will quickly dive into the complexities of the Instacart business, building strong cross-functional relationships to become a trusted legal and business partner, identifying opportunities, crafting solutions, and driving impact amid evolving priorities.

You’ll draft and negotiate a wide variety of commercial agreements with partners, advertisers, publishers, and vendors. You’ll offer strategic legal advice on product development, campaigns, digital media strategy, and compliance with evolving regulatory landscapes, including privacy, advertising standards, and consumer protection laws.

We’re looking for an attorney who excels in navigating novel challenges, operates independently, models collaboration, and solves complex problems with practical, business-minded solutions.

Every day we solve hard problems to create a world where everyone has access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Join us!

About the Job

Role: Legal Counsel & Strategic Advising

• Serve as a trusted legal advisor to the Ads and Marketing teams, supporting strategic initiatives, campaigns, product innovations, and launches, while mastering the intricacies of the Instacart business to provide meaningful, proactive guidance.
• Provide proactive, pragmatic legal advice on commercial terms, business operations, consumer protection, advertising compliance, IP (including trademark, copyright, and right of publicity clearance and counseling), privacy, and digital content strategy.
• Anticipate legal issues and trends, helping the business see around corners and mitigate risk before it arises.

Contract Drafting & Negotiation

• Draft, negotiate, and implement commercial agreements, including advertising platform agreements, publisher contracts, influencer and sponsorship deals, creative and production agency agreements, agency terms, ad tech terms, media buying terms and guidelines (e.g., IAB), and integrated marketing promotions.
• Create and update form agreements and templates that reflect best practices and reduce friction for business teams.

Regulatory & Compliance

• Monitor and interpret relevant legal and regulatory developments affecting marketing, retail media, advertising platforms, and e-commerce—including FTC, FCC, NAD, GDPR, and CCPA/CPRA requirements.
• Guide on compliance with advertising law, substantiation, disclosures, privacy requirements, endorsements, user-generated content, sweepstakes, promotions, and digital media campaigns.

Collaboration & Education

• Partner with Product, Compliance, Data Privacy, Brand, and Engineering to ensure legal considerations are embedded in planning stages.
• Train internal stakeholders on legal policies, risk mitigation strategies, and regulatory requirements.
• Communicate complex legal issues clearly to non-legal stakeholders, including executive leadership.
• Drive scalable legal solutions, operational efficiencies, and process improvements supporting Instacart’s rapid growth.
• Engage with emerging technologies such as AI in advertising/marketing and contract management systems to proactively identify legal and practical risks and solutions.

About You

Minimum Qualifications

• J.D. from a top-tier law school and active membership in at least one state bar (California preferred).
• 5+ years of relevant legal experience, with a strong emphasis in advertising and marketing law.
• At least 3+ years supporting or advising businesses on digital advertising platforms, marketing programs, or retail media networks.
• Direct experience providing legal support to a high-performing sales team and/or a fast-paced marketing organization.
• Proven ability to counsel on new product launches and marketing activations, including pre-launch review and cross-functional collaboration.
• In-house or law firm experience with consumer-facing technology companies, retailers, or CPG brands is highly desirable.
• Strong command of advertising, intellectual property, privacy, and consumer protection law.
• Experience acting as a business advisor and strategic partner with cross-functional relationship-building ability.
• Experience managing partner negotiations and handling contracts from inception to execution.
• Practical understanding of AI technologies, digital advertising and marketing tools, and contract management systems.
• Ability to balance multiple high-priority initiatives in a fast-paced environment with sound judgment and commercial pragmatism.
• Thrives in ambiguous, high-velocity settings with initiative and adaptability.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to simplify legal complexity for a wide audience.
• Comfortable working autonomously, but collaborative and team-centric in style.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with legal issues in the e-commerce or Internet sectors, including data security (GDPR, CCPA/CPRA).
• Payments law; healthcare or pharmaceutical marketing; alcohol and age-restricted marketing laws.
• Familiarity with ad tech, media buying, and measurement practices is a plus.
• Strong preference for experience advising in e-commerce, CPG, and/or ad tech sectors.

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