Head of Legal / Deputy General Counsel

Overview

The organization is seeking a Head of Legal / Deputy General Counsel to build and lead its legal function. This is a hands-on role for a pragmatic legal leader with deep expertise at the intersection of open-source software, AI, and nonprofit institutions.

Reporting to and advising leadership and the board, this role will support the Foundation’s mission by developing legal frameworks for intellectual property, open-source licensing, product security, commercial contracting, nonprofit governance, and international legal and regulatory matters.

Responsibilities

Intellectual Property & Open-Source Governance

• Own IP strategy across the organization’s codebase, brand, and ecosystem, including copyright, licensing, trademark registration, usage policies, and enforcement.
• Develop contributor agreements, licensing frameworks, and guidelines for third-party integrations, derivative works, and commercial use.
• Establish IP governance principles that balance ecosystem openness with responsibility to protect the project’s integrity.

Product Security, Data Access & AI Regulation

• Advise on the evolving legal and regulatory landscape governing AI agents, especially where agents access sensitive data, interact with third-party systems, and execute actions on behalf of users.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to establish legal frameworks for agent permissions, identity, authorization, data access, and user consent across consumer, enterprise, and other deployment environments.
• Anticipate how security requirements, data access restrictions, and compliance obligations vary by customer, end user, industry, and jurisdiction, translating differences into practical product guidance.
• Help define legal and policy frameworks for agent autonomy, delegated authority, data ownership, and accountability when agents access information or execute actions across interconnected systems.
• Monitor emerging requirements around AI governance, privacy, cybersecurity, and data sovereignty to help ensure products, architecture, and ecosystem standards can adapt as regulatory expectations evolve.
• Advise on allocation of legal responsibility among the organization, developers, deploying organizations, and end users as agents operate across different trust boundaries and regulatory environments.

Commercial Contracts & Partnerships

• Draft, review, and negotiate strategic partnerships, sponsorships, grants, vendor agreements, software licenses, and other commercial contracts.
• Build scalable contract templates and processes while advising on data rights, liability, indemnification, licensing, and technology risks.
• Support partnerships with technology companies, AI labs, cloud providers, and international organizations while preserving neutrality.

Nonprofit Law & Governance

• Advise leadership and the board on nonprofit governance, fiduciary duties, organizational structure, and regulatory compliance.
• Support board operations, governance policies, charitable donations, grantmaking, and tax-exempt organization requirements, as applicable.
• Help maintain appropriate separation between the organization, affiliated entities, commercial partners, and ecosystem stakeholders.

International Legal & Regulatory Matters

• Advise on cross-border agreements, international IP protection, and trademark strategy across key jurisdictions.
• Coordinate specialist counsel on privacy, data protection, AI regulation, data sovereignty, sanctions, export controls, and local compliance requirements.
• Develop practical frameworks for managing legal and regulatory risks as the organization and its global ecosystem grow.

Legal Strategy & Operations

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the executive team and board, translating complex legal issues into actionable recommendations.
• Build the organization’s legal infrastructure, including policies, compliance processes, contract management, and outside counsel relationships.
• Monitor emerging legal developments affecting open-source AI, agent identity, digital ownership, autonomous systems, and decentralized technology ecosystems.

Requirements

• JD or equivalent qualifying legal degree and admission to practice in a relevant jurisdiction, preferably the US.
• Typically 7+ years of relevant legal experience in-house, at a law firm, or within a nonprofit or foundation.
• Strong expertise in IP, software licensing, trademarks, copyright, and technology transactions.
• Familiarity with open-source licensing, contributor frameworks, and software governance.
• Experience advising on AI regulation, product counsel, data governance, privacy, cybersecurity, or technology risk.
• Ability to navigate complex questions around data access, user permissions, agent autonomy, and responsibility across multi-party technology ecosystems.
• Experience with nonprofit law, foundation governance, or tax-exempt organizations.
• Excellent business judgment and communication skills, with the ability to operate independently in a fast-moving environment.
• A builder mentality and willingness to create legal processes from the ground up.

Preferred Qualifications

• International legal experience, particularly cross-border contracts, privacy, or international IP protection.
• Particularly relevant backgrounds: open-source foundations, AI and developer-platform companies, cybersecurity and infrastructure companies, technology-focused nonprofits, and law firms specializing in IP, technology transactions, AI regulation, privacy, or nonprofit law.

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified in the provided job description.

Location

• Not specified in the provided job description.