Counsel, Commercial @ OpenAI

Counselwell Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 248,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Counselwell Inc. seeks an experienced commercial attorney to support OpenAI’s business with legal advice on transactions and partnerships. This hybrid role in San Francisco involves 3 days in the office per week.

As a legal partner, you will negotiate agreements and develop scalable legal frameworks. Candidates should have at least 7 years of experience, a strong contract negotiation background, and sound judgment in fast-changing situations.

The position offers a salary range of $248,000 to $275,000.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience across in-house and technology-focused law firm roles.
• Comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial environment, and proactive.
• Demonstrate sound judgment in ambiguous or fast-changing situations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the legal partner for OpenAI’s business transactions, partnerships, and operations.
• Identify and address commercial, product, regulatory, and privacy legal issues.
• Develop strategies and processes for handling legal issues.

Skills

Experience in drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts

Ability to provide business-oriented legal advice

Strong communication skills

Cross-functional relationship building

Sound judgment in fast-changing situations

Job description

OpenAI’s Legal team plays a crucial role in advancing our mission by tackling innovative and fundamental legal issues in AI. The team includes professionals from diverse legal fields – technology, AI, infrastructure, privacy, IP, corporate, employment, tax, regulatory, and litigation – who collaborate closely with colleagues across the company.

If you are passionate about being a technology lawyer working on cutting‑edge challenges, you’ll thrive here.

About The Role

We are seeking an experienced commercial attorney to join our commercial legal team. Based in the US, you will help lead commercial legal support for OpenAI’s rapidly growing business, working with teams such as GTM, Partnerships, Procurement, Finance, Product, Infrastructure, and Engineering.

This is a great opportunity to join OpenAI’s commercial legal team, negotiating high-impact agreements and helping to build scalable frameworks for responsible growth.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week.

In This Role, You Will

• Serve as the legal partner for OpenAI’s business transactions, partnerships, and operations.
• Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice to teams including Sales, Partnerships, Finance, Procurement, and Operations.
• Identify and address commercial, product, regulatory, privacy, and other legal issues arising from commercial transactions.
• Develop strategies and processes for handling legal issues in creative and scalable ways that support growth.
• Monitor and advise on regulatory and compliance matters affecting AI and technology.
• Collaborate with colleagues across OpenAI’s global legal team to ensure alignment across jurisdictions.

You Might Thrive In This Role If You

• Have 7+ years of experience across in-house and technology-focused law firm roles.
• Bring a strong background in drafting and negotiating complex commercial contracts.
• Are comfortable operating in an entrepreneurial environment, and are proactive and independent.
• Communicate with clarity and business judgment, tailoring advice to enable responsible growth.
• Build cross‑functional relationships and adapt communication styles to diverse audiences.
• Have a strong sense of ownership, intellectual curiosity, and enthusiasm for technology.
• Can demonstrate sound judgment in ambiguous or fast-changing situations.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general‑purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via a dedicated form.

Compensation Range: $248,000 – $275,000