Senior Commercial Counsel

Overview

The organization is seeking a Founding Commercial Counsel to advise startup clients on commercial agreements and help shape how commercial legal services are delivered through software and repeatable workflows.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate MSAs, SaaS agreements, NDAs, DPAs, vendor contracts, and other commercial agreements.
• Advise founders and in-house teams through calls and Slack, providing practical, stage-appropriate guidance on legal risks.
• Own client relationships, serve as trusted commercial counsel, and meet agreed turnaround commitments.
• Turn negotiation positions, fallback terms, and review standards into playbooks and AI-supported workflows, with approximately 30 to 40% of the role focused on platform work.
• Help develop the commercial practice, support onboarding future attorneys, and contribute to product development.

Requirements

• Approximately 5 to 8 years of commercial contracts experience, including meaningful in-house experience at a startup or technology company.
• JD and active bar membership in good standing in a US jurisdiction; California or New York admission is preferred.
• Hands-on experience drafting, building templates, and negotiating SaaS agreements, MSAs, NDAs, DPAs, and vendor deals.
• Strong knowledge of market terms for liability caps, indemnity, intellectual property, data, and termination, with the judgment to explain tradeoffs clearly.
• Client-friendly approach and experience advising founders or in-house teams directly.
• Experience using AI tools in legal practice and interest in codifying legal judgment into workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

• California or New York bar admission.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary is $170,000 to $220,000 USD annually.
• Visa sponsorship is not available.

Location

• Remote within the United States, with San Francisco, California as the primary location.