Domain Researcher, Legal

Confidential; United States; Remote; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Health insurance premiums reimbursed

Paid time off

401(k) plan with company match

Job summary

Zekai seeks a Domain Researcher, Legal, to help define AI-powered legal reasoning and benchmarking. You will shape evaluation frameworks, datasets, and methodologies for complex legal tasks, collaborating with researchers and engineers in a remote, full-time setting.

The role requires an advanced law degree and strong research writing skills. Compensation includes a base salary ranging from $200,000 to $250,000, equity options, and performance-based bonuses, with a remote-first environment.

Qualifications

• Advanced degree in law (JD/LLM/SJD/PhD or equivalent).
• Experience conducting legal research, analysis, or policy work.
• Experience developing structured methodologies for assessing legal arguments or outcomes.
• Exceptional analytical reasoning and written communication skills.
• Experience working across interdisciplinary teams (research, technology, or legal operations).

Responsibilities

• Design, own, and evolve evaluation frameworks for AI agents operating in legal domains, including benchmarks and scoring methodologies.
• Conduct original research on legal reasoning, statutory interpretation, and workflow automation.
• Develop and curate datasets and benchmark environments reflecting real-world legal challenges.
• Collaborate with AI researchers and engineers to evaluate and improve legal-focused models and agentic systems.
• Analyze model performance, reasoning quality, and failure modes across legal use cases.
• Publish internal research findings and evaluation methodologies.
• Stay current with developments in legal technology, jurisprudence, regulatory environments, and AI research.
• Help establish industry-leading standards for legal AI evaluation and benchmarking.

Skills

Analytical reasoning

Written communication

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Education

JD/LLM/SJD or PhD in Law

Job description

Job Title: Domain Researcher, Legal

Job Type: Full-time

Location: Remote

The Role

Join our research team as a Domain Researcher (DR), Law/Legal, where you'll help define the frontier of AI-powered legal reasoning. This role sits at the intersection of large language models, agentic systems, and legal workflows, with a focus on building rigorous evaluation frameworks that measure, benchmark, and advance AI performance across complex legal tasks.

You will conduct applied research, develop methodologies for assessing legal intelligence in AI systems, and partner closely with researchers and engineers to shape the next generation of enterprise AI.

What You'll Be Doing

• Design, own, and evolve evaluation frameworks for AI agents operating in legal domains, including benchmark suites, scoring methodologies, quality rubrics, and research-grade evaluation protocols.
• Conduct original research on legal reasoning, statutory interpretation, legal analysis, and workflow automation.
• Develop and curate datasets, case studies, and benchmark environments that reflect real-world legal challenges.
• Collaborate with AI researchers and engineers to evaluate and improve legal-focused models and agentic systems.
• Analyze model performance, reasoning quality, and failure modes across legal use cases.
• Publish internal research findings, best practices, and evaluation methodologies.
• Stay current with developments in legal technology, jurisprudence, regulatory environments, and AI research.
• Help establish industry-leading standards for legal AI evaluation and benchmarking.

What We're Looking For

• Advanced degree in Law (JD, LLM, SJD, PhD in Law, or equivalent).
• Deep expertise in one or more legal domains, including corporate law, contracts, litigation, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, employment law, or public policy.
• Demonstrated experience conducting legal research, analysis, or policy work.
• Experience developing structured methodologies for assessing legal arguments, legal outcomes, or research quality.
• Exceptional analytical reasoning and written communication skills.
• Experience working across interdisciplinary teams involving research, technology, or legal operations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with legal technology, legal operations, or AI-enabled legal workflows.
• Background in legal benchmarking, legal research methodology, or legal knowledge management.
• Published legal scholarship, policy research, or contributions to legal standards and frameworks.

Compensation & Benefits Notice

The national pay range for this full-time position is base salary of $200,000 –$250,000. All employees are eligible for equity compensation, and employees may also receive performance-based bonuses, dependent on role and subject to company policies. our partner provides a comprehensive benefits package, including up to 100% reimbursement for health-insurance premiums, paid time off, a 401(K) plan with a company match, and additional benefits designed to support a high-performing, remote-first workforce.

our partner is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, reach out to support@our partner.

Our hiring process utilizes artificial intelligence tools to assist in candidate screening and assessment. Our AI tools are designed to complement, not replace, human decision-making.

Disclaimer

The information contained in this job posting, including but not limited to role responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, and benefits, is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute a binding offer of employment. our partner reserves the right to amend, modify, or withdraw any portion of this posting at its sole discretion and without prior notice. All employment decisions are made in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

This is a 100% remote contract role, open to applicants worldwide in the countries the employer accepts.