Corporate Counsel

Chadwick Nott Legal Recruitment; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Chadwick Nott Legal Recruitment is assisting a rapidly growing AI company in San Francisco to hire its first in-house Corporate Counsel. You will own the commercial contracting process and advise founders and leadership with autonomy in a high-visibility role.

Ideal candidates will have 3–6 years PQE, a strong background in commercial contracts and negotiation, and in-house experience within a high-growth technology environment.

Qualifications

• 3–6 years of post-qualification legal experience.
• Strong background in commercial contracts and contract negotiation.
• Previous in-house experience within a high-growth technology company or startup environment.
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial setting with limited structure.
• Tech-savvy, commercially minded, and interested in how emerging technologies can improve legal workflows.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a wide range of commercial agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, licensing agreements, and data/privacy-related contracts.
• Partner closely with business stakeholders and leadership on contract-related matters and legal risk assessments.
• Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, and internal workflows to improve efficiency and consistency.
• Coordinate with external counsel on specialist legal matters when required.
• Support broader legal initiatives as the company grows, with exposure to areas such as employment, compliance, and operational matters.

Skills

Commercial contracts

Contract negotiation

In-house experience

Tech startup experience

Job description

Corporate Counsel (3-6 PQE) | High-Growth AI Company

We're working with a rapidly growing, venture-backed AI company that is building the infrastructure powering the next generation of large language models and AI agents. As demand continues to scale, the business is looking to hire its first dedicated Corporate Counsel to support a fast-moving commercial function and help establish legal processes that can grow alongside the business.

This is a rare opportunity to join an ambitious, high-performing team and work directly with founders and senior leadership in a role with significant visibility and autonomy.

The Role

As the company's first in-house legal hire, you'll take ownership of the commercial contracting process and act as a trusted legal advisor across the business. You'll support a high volume of agreements while helping to build scalable legal frameworks for continued growth.

Key Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, negotiate, and manage a wide range of commercial agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, licensing agreements, and data/privacy-related contracts
• Partner closely with business stakeholders and leadership on contract-related matters and legal risk assessments
• Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, and internal workflows to improve efficiency and consistency
• Coordinate with external counsel on specialist legal matters when required
• Support broader legal initiatives as the company grows, with exposure to areas such as employment, compliance, and operational matters

Candidate Profile

• 3-6 years of post-qualification legal experience
• Strong background in commercial contracts and contract negotiation
• Previous in-house experience within a high-growth technology company or startup environment
• Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial setting with limited structure
• Tech-savvy, commercially minded, and interested in how emerging technologies can improve legal workflows
• Proactive, adaptable, and eager to take ownership beyond a traditional legal remit