General Counsel

Outset; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 450,000; Full time

Job summary

Outset, a fast‑growing AI‑driven research platform, is hiring its first General Counsel to own all corporate legal matters and partner with People, Sales and Product as we scale.

You’ll lead corporate governance, fundraising support, M&A assessment, and draft/ negotiate enterprise SaaS contracts (MSAs, DPAs, orders) while building scalable templates. You’ll also oversee IP protection, outside counsel, employment law, and regulatory inquiries.

Qualifications

• JD and active CA bar membership.
• 7+ years of legal experience at a high-growth SaaS/tech company.
• Direct experience with data privacy/AI regulatory frameworks (GDPR, CCPA).
• Track record negotiating enterprise SaaS commercial agreements.
• Comfort operating without a large team.
• Sound judgment on when to lean on outside counsel vs. in-house.

Responsibilities

• Manage corporate structure, board governance, cap table matters, and equity administration with Finance.
• Provide fundraising support (financing rounds, due diligence, board consents).
• Lead M&A and strategic partnership evaluation as opportunities arise.
• Draft, negotiate, and manage enterprise SaaS contracts (MSAs, DPAs, order forms).
• Oversee vendor and procurement agreements, including AI/data-processing terms.
• Build scalable contract templates and playbooks for Sales and CS to self-serve on standard terms.
• Partner with People on employment law matters, policy review, and investigations.
• Support multi-state compliance as headcount scales.
• Protect and manage the company’s IP portfolio and supervise outside counsel.
• Serve as point person for regulatory inquiries, disputes, and risk escalations.

Skills

Legal drafting

Contract negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Corporate governance

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

J.D. and California bar

Job description

Outset invented a better way to do research: AI-powered user interviews.

Global brands like Hubspot, Microsoft, Uber and Nestle use Outset to achieve deeper, qualitative insights about their users at unprecedented speed and scale.

The research industry is massive (>$140B and growing) and ripe for disruption. Incumbents are outdated, slow, and burdened by high-cost services. That's our opportunity.

Outset is backed by top Silicon Valley investors and raised a $30M Series B in December 2025—less than six months after our Series A—led by Radical Ventures with participation from M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm), 8VC, Y Combinator, and Adverb Ventures.

The raise follows a breakout year, with our business growing 8x as enterprise customers across industries adopt our category, AI‑moderated research, as the new standard for understanding people.

We’re a tight-knit team serving some of the world’s largest enterprises.

We're hiring our first General Counsel to build the legal function from the ground up. You'll be the primary legal advisor, own all corporate legal matters, and partner closely with People, Sales, and Product as we scale. This is a hands-on, builder role.

Responsibilities

• Corporate structure, board governance, cap table matters, and equity administration in partnership with Finance

• Fundraising support (financing rounds, investor due diligence, board consents)

• M&A and strategic partnership evaluation as opportunities arise

• Draft, negotiate, and manage customer contracts (MSAs, DPAs, order forms) for an enterprise SaaS motion

• Vendor and procurement agreements, including AI/data-processing subprocessor terms

• Build scalable contract templates and playbooks so Sales and CS can self-serve on standard terms

• Partner with People and Talent on employment law matters, policy review, and workplace investigations

• Support ACA and multi-state compliance as headcount scales past current thresholds

• Protect and manage the company's IP portfolio (patents, trademarks, trade secrets)

• Manage outside counsel relationships and legal spend across specialty areas (litigation, IP, immigration)

• Serve as the point person for regulatory inquiries, disputes, and risk escalations

Qualifications

• JD and active bar membership (California)

• 7+ years of legal experience, including in-house experience at a high-growth SaaS or tech company

• Direct experience with data privacy/AI regulatory frameworks (GDPR, CCPA)

• Track record negotiating enterprise SaaS commercial agreements

• Comfort operating without a large team

• Sound judgment on when to lean on outside counsel vs. handle in-house

Nice to have

• Prior experience as first in-house counsel or building a legal function from scratch

• Exposure to international employment structures (EOR, contractor classification across multiple countries)

• Experience in a company using or building AI products, with familiarity in AI-specific legal/regulatory questions