Head of Legal

We’re looking for a pragmatic, hands-on Head of Legal to build and own our legal function from the ground up. This role sits at the intersection of commercial and employment law, supporting a fast-growing, AI-native B2B SaaS company operating in a dynamic and evolving legal landscape.

You’ll be a true generalist with strong competency in employment litigation and commercial agreements. You’ll operate as an individual contributor, working closely with leadership to navigate risk, enable the business, and build scalable legal processes.

What You’ll Do:

Commercial Legal

• Draft, review, and negotiate a range of commercial agreements, including MSAs, NDAs, partnership agreements, and vendor contracts
• Partner closely with Deal Desk on customer agreements to balance legal protection with commercial goals
• Support third-party vendor negotiations, enabling speed while maintaining appropriate risk controls
• Provide practical, business-oriented guidance on contract interpretation, negotiation strategy, and commercial risk

Product, Compliance & Employment Support

• Advise on legal and compliance considerations related to an AI-native product environment, including customer requests, data handling, privilege considerations, and protective order matters
• Support employment-related legal matters, including sensitive employee situations and disputes involving non-competes, trade secrets, or competitor-related claims
• Partner with external counsel and leadership on employment-related risk assessment and dispute management when necessary
• Provide thoughtful, pragmatic guidance to employees and stakeholders navigating sensitive legal issues

Legal Operations & Strategy

• Build and maintain lightweight, scalable legal processes, templates, and workflows
• Independently prioritize across competing demands with strong judgment and minimal oversight
• Proactively identify legal and regulatory risks and translate them into actionable guidance
• Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership on legal, operational, and risk matters

What We're Looking For

• Active license to practice law in the U.S.; California bar membership preferred
• 8–15+ years of legal experience spanning commercial/tech transactions, product counseling, compliance, and employment law
• Strong track record drafting and negotiating commercial agreements, including MSAs, NDAs, partnership agreements, customer contracts, and vendor agreements
• Experience advising high-growth SaaS or technology companies on commercial, product, compliance, and operational legal matters
• Familiarity with employment-related disputes, including non-competes, trade secret matters, and competitor-related conflicts, with the ability to effectively partner with outside counsel when needed
• Ability and willingness to operate across multiple legal domains within a highly hands-on, fast-moving environment
• Experience serving as a lead or sole legal partner (or clear readiness to step into such a role), with a highly self-directed, resourceful, and proactive operating style
• Highly structured and process-oriented, with strong prioritization capabilities and sound, pragmatic judgment
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous, fast-paced, high-growth environments, ideally within SaaS or technology companies
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to advise stakeholders and support employees through sensitive, high-stress legal situations with clarity, discretion, and empathy