As our very first full-time in-house legal hire, the Manager, Contract Operations role will lead our commercial contracts motion, providing strategic and operational cross-functional support. This role goes far beyond contract review — it’s about re-designing how contracting happens at Coursedog, using cutting-edge AI technology and systems, process design, and change leadership to create scalable and intelligent systems. This fully remote role reports to the Chief Financial Officer and is open to candidates located anywhere in the continental US.

Coursedog is building a next-generation Operating System for Higher Education. Founded by former Columbia University students, Coursedog is a high-growth SaaS company focused on its mission to break down barriers to opportunity for student. With our recent partnership with JMI Equity and with over 150+ customers, we firmly believe our platform is best situated to improve efficiencies and student outcomes in Higher Education.

Department: Finance, Legal, & People
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Remote
Workplace type: Fully remote
Compensation: $120,000 - $130,000 / year

Key Responsibilities

What You Will Do:

Own Coursedog’s commercial contracting process end-to-end, while driving AI-focused transformation across contract operations.
Define and execute the long-term vision for contract management and operations, aligning process excellence, technology, and stakeholder experience.
Build contract strategy: create templates, playbooks, and scalable negotiation processes that streamline operations and reduce risk.
Establish legal infrastructure with a focus on AI: document management, intake systems, reporting, and processes to scale with the business.
Draft, review, and negotiate commercial contracts & other agreements with employees, customers, vendors, & channel partners.
Translate complex contract requirements into clear, actionable guidance for executives, teams, and customers.
Drive change management initiatives that reshape how Coursedog teams engage with contracts.
Provide training and develop resources in support of our sales and other cross-functional teams.
Define smart risk taking principles that balance consistency and speed, ensuring contracts move through review and approval quickly while still protecting the company.
Identify, pilot, and integrate emerging technologies that automate low-risk contracts, augment legal decision-making, and ensure Coursedog is always on the leading edge of contracting innovation.
Partner with outside counsel on specialized or complex commercial legal matters.

Skills Knowledge and Expertise

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
4+ years experience in a contract management, legal operations or paralegal capacity at a fast-paced tech or SaaS company.
Deep commercial contracts experience managing enterprise SaaS agreements, MSAs, partnership agreements, and vendor contracts.
Entrepreneurial mindset: self-starting, and comfortable working in a highly dynamic environment.
Hyper-responsive, collaborative, effective communication, interpersonal skills, and service-oriented attitude.
Team player who takes initiative and demonstrates curiosity about how our company and business works.
A curious go-getter with strong judgment, highly tuned organizational skills, and a positive attitude would excel in this role.
Process-oriented: builds systems, intake processes, and reporting to support business.
Strong business judgment: delivers pragmatic, risk-balanced guidance that enables growth.
Ability to think creatively, function independently and work proactively on new challenges in a fast-paced environment.
Strong negotiation skills and ability to work directly with customer counsel.
The ideal candidate is process-oriented, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and can juggle competing priorities.
Ability to prioritize, drive, and respond to multiple competing deadlines in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
Strong organizational skills and meticulous attention to detail.
Excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
Demonstrated ability to analyze and solve complex problems in new areas.
Experience with Salesforce as well as SaaS Revenue Recognition and/or CPQ tools a plus.

Working at Coursedog

Healthcare, Dental & Vision
We follow a fixed contribution model to ensure equity and transparency. Each employee receives the same annual dollar amount to allocate toward their medical, dental, and vision coverage. This empowers you to select the plan that best meets your needs — whether it’s a base-level plan or a more comprehensive option.

Depending on the selected coverage level, the company covers:

Employee-only coverage: 99% to 55% of monthly premiums
Employee + dependents: 77% to 43% of monthly premiums

We proudly partner with Aetna and Guardian, and offer access to best-in-class wellness perks including:

Spring Health (mental health support)
XP Health (vision benefits)
Carrot Fertility (family planning)
One Medical (primary care)

We also support pre-tax savings through Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).

Retirement Planning
To support long-term financial health, we offer a 401(k) plan from day one of employment.
Beginning January 1, 2026, we’ll provide a 4% employer match on your annual salary (subject to federal limits) for employees contributing to a tax-advantaged retirement account.

Paid Time Off
We trust our employees to manage their time responsibly. That’s why we offer an unlimited Paid Time Off policy — because flexibility and balance are critical for sustained excellence and personal well-being.

Remote-First Since Inception
We were built for distributed work. Our culture emphasizes flexibility over rigidity, outcomes over hours, and transparency over gatekeeping. We are committed to being a remote-first organization indefinitely, empowering you to work where and how you thrive best.

Equity
As a valued contributor to our collective success, you’ll participate in the upside. All employees are granted equity in the company, with vesting aligned to your role and tenure. Equity grants are reviewed and adjusted with promotions to reflect your evolving impact.

Paid Parental Leave
We proudly support working parents with industry-leading benefits.

Primary caregivers are eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave
Secondary caregivers receive 6 weeks of paid leave

This time is fully paid and available to all eligible employees regardless of gender or family structure.

About Coursedog

Our mission is to break down barriers to opportunity for students.

Coursedog provides higher ed with modern technology solutions – empowering institutions, students, and communities across the globe.

Coursedog's founding story is rooted in the desire to help students achieve their highest goals. In 2018, Coursedog's co-founders and then college students, Justin Wenig and Nick Diao, were frustrated by how difficult it was to get into the classes they needed to graduate on time. After speaking with higher education provosts and registrars to better understand how academic scheduling works, they came away with a vision that permeates the company today.

Coursedog has raised $113M total capital as a remote-first, hyper-growth startup currently backed by JMI Equity, and with past investments from YC and First Round Capital. We were recently ranked in Forbes top 500 US startup employers and our employee engagement scores rank in the top 5% of tech companies.

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