Legal & Compliance
Managing legal risk, contracts, regulation, and policy. Covers general counsel, corporate counsel, contract management, compliance, regulatory affairs, privacy/DPO, IP/patent, employment law, legal operations, government affairs, and public policy.
Roles
The canonical roles within Legal & Compliance.
Commercial Counsel
Commercial Counsel roles at AI companies involve drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a high volume of commercial agreements—from enterprise SaaS and licensing deals to vendor and partnership contracts—while serving as a trusted advisor to sales, product, and leadership teams. These positions distinguish themselves by requiring fluency in AI-specific legal considerations like data governance, security compliance, and responsible AI frameworks, alongside traditional technology transaction expertise. Commercial Counsel typically sit within rapidly scaling legal teams embedded in hypergrowth companies, working closely with go-to-market functions to balance legal risk with business velocity, establishing scalable contracting processes, and providing pragmatic guidance that translates complex legal concepts for non-lawyer stakeholders.
Regulatory & Compliance
Professionals in this role execute compliance strategies for AI infrastructure and cloud services by managing certifications, audit preparation, and regulatory frameworks across multiple jurisdictions. They serve as the primary interface between engineering teams and external auditors, translating complex requirements like FedRAMP, DORA, and export controls into actionable operational processes. This role distinguishes itself through deep technical expertise in AI-specific governance and emerging regulatory regimes, partnering closely with product and security teams to embed compliance into product development rather than applying it after the fact. They typically sit within legal and compliance functions alongside security and governance leaders, responsible for scaling compliance programs as the company expands to enterprise and public sector customers.
General & Corporate Counsel
General Counsel roles at AI companies navigate complex corporate and securities matters while supporting infrastructure and product growth. These attorneys advise executive teams and boards on M&A, capital markets transactions, entity governance, and regulatory compliance as companies scale globally. They distinguish themselves by balancing deep technical legal expertise with commercial pragmatism, often serving as trusted advisors during high-stakes financing rounds, acquisitions, and strategic pivots. General Counsel typically sit at the intersection of finance, product, and operations teams, managing both internal legal strategy and external counsel relationships to enable rapid innovation while maintaining governance rigor.
Government Affairs & Policy
This role develops and executes government engagement strategies for AI companies navigating evolving national policy landscapes. Professionals in this position build senior relationships across legislative and executive branches, translate complex technical AI issues into policy positions, and coordinate multi-stakeholder advocacy campaigns—from drafting regulatory submissions to organizing high-stakes government demonstrations. What distinguishes this work from broader corporate affairs is its focus on shaping frontier AI policy at moments of regulatory emergence, requiring deep technical fluency paired with political acumen. These specialists typically embed within dedicated policy teams or report to C-suite executives, serving as primary government representatives and strategic advisors on policy feasibility, timing, and geopolitical implications.
Privacy & AI Counsel
Privacy & AI Counsel roles advise cross-functional teams on data protection, AI governance, and regulatory compliance as AI products develop and scale globally. Day-to-day, these professionals conduct privacy impact assessments, draft data processing agreements, counsel product and engineering teams on responsible AI deployment, monitor evolving regulations across jurisdictions, and help translate complex legal requirements into practical business solutions. What distinguishes this role from general corporate counsel is its deep technical engagement with AI systems—advising on model training data, synthetic data use, biometric technologies, content moderation policies, and dual-use risks—while balancing innovation with safety and compliance. These roles typically sit within Legal or Privacy offices at AI-focused companies, working closely with Product, Engineering, Research, and Trust & Safety teams to embed privacy-by-design and responsible AI principles throughout development cycles.
Contracts Specialist
Contracts Specialists in AI companies manage the full lifecycle of commercial agreements—from drafting and negotiation through execution and administration—supporting transactions with customers, vendors, and strategic partners. They distinguish themselves by combining legal expertise with operational acumen, building scalable contracting processes and CLM systems while handling high-volume deal flow across evolving areas like AI licensing, data privacy, and emerging technology frameworks. These roles typically sit within lean legal teams at fast-moving startups and scale-ups, functioning as trusted advisors who collaborate across Sales, Product, Finance, and Research to balance legal risk with business velocity.
Legal Operations & Engineering
This role sits at the intersection of legal strategy and technical execution, managing the systems and workflows that allow AI company legal teams to operate at scale. Engineers in this role own contract lifecycle management platforms like Ironclad, intake systems, and AI-driven automation tools while partnering closely with sales, customer success, and finance to ensure legal processes align with business operations. What sets this apart from general legal support is the heavy emphasis on technology implementation—evaluating new tools, integrating AI agents, building no-code solutions, and designing scalable systems that handle high-volume requests efficiently. These professionals typically report to a Legal Operations Lead or Head of Legal and sit within legal departments that are themselves rapidly evolving to support fast-growing AI companies navigating complex commercial, compliance, and regulatory challenges.
Employment & Labor Counsel
This role advises on employment law matters across a rapidly growing, globally distributed AI company, handling everything from hiring and termination to international workforce expansion and complex cross-border employment issues. Unlike purely operational People roles, Employment & Labor Counsel provides strategic legal guidance on compliance, litigation, and policy while partnering closely with People teams to balance legal risk with business velocity. The role sits within the legal function but acts as a bridge between legal strategy and People operations, often managing external counsel, building scalable frameworks, and supporting high-stakes matters like restructurings and international market entries. It typically requires 6-8+ years of employment law experience, including multinational company exposure and expertise in multiple jurisdictions, particularly EU and US employment regulations.
Intellectual Property Counsel
This role develops and executes comprehensive intellectual property strategy across patent, trademark, copyright, and trade secret matters for AI-driven companies. The counsel acts as a strategic business partner embedded within product, engineering, and research teams, translating complex technical innovations into forward-looking IP protection that balances competitive differentiation with freedom to operate. They manage the full lifecycle from invention disclosure and patent prosecution to licensing negotiations and copyright risk mitigation, while building scalable IP processes and educating cross-functional teams on IP best practices. What distinguishes this from general corporate counsel is the deep technical fluency required—particularly in AI, machine learning, and emerging technology domains—and the focus on proactive IP harvesting and strategic portfolio development rather than reactive legal defense. These roles typically sit within lean, specialized legal teams at high-growth AI companies where the IP counsel operates with significant autonomy and direct influence over business outcomes.
Recent Jobs
The latest Legal & Compliance openings across the AI industry.