Head of Legal Operations

Sword; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 214,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Total compensation benefits

Country-specific benefits may vary

Job summary

Sword is seeking a Head of Legal Operations to build and scale systems, processes, and technology for a fast-growing healthcare tech company. You will own the legal tech ecosystem, drive alignment with business planning, and lead high-impact initiatives across Legal and the broader organization.

The role requires strong technical fluency, project management, and a hands-on, solutions-oriented mindset, with prior experience in fast-moving tech companies.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in legal operations, legal technology, strategic project management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated ownership of legal technology platforms, including CLM or equivalent enterprise systems.
• Experience designing scalable workflows, improving processes, and implementing operational best practices.
• Experience evaluating and implementing AI-enabled tools, automation solutions, or tech-driven process improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, take ownership of initiatives, and drive results with minimal oversight.
• Strong technical aptitude and experience collaborating with IT, Engineering, and other technical teams.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, navigate ambiguity, and balance strategic priorities with hands-on execution.

Responsibilities

• Own and continuously optimize the Legal department's technology ecosystem, including CLM, matter management, legal intake, knowledge management, and workflow automation platforms.
• Develop and execute a scalable legal technology roadmap, identifying opportunities to integrate AI, automation, and emerging technologies to improve efficiency and support business growth.
• Lead technology evaluations, system implementations, integrations, vendor selection, configuration, and ongoing optimization, including AI-enabled and custom-built solutions.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve scalable legal workflows and processes, including legal intake, contract management, matter tracking, and internal service delivery.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to develop secure, effective, and scalable technology solutions.
• Support Legal leadership with technology budgeting, strategic planning, and operational priorities.
• Drive continuous improvement, process automation, and technology adoption to build a modern, efficient, and scalable Legal function.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of legal operations professionals, setting priorities, driving accountability, and fostering a culture of collaboration.

Skills

Legal operations

Strategic project management

Legal technology

Process design

AI-enabled tools

Independent work

IT collaboration

Tools

Ironclad

Spotdraft

Job description

At Sword, we're building AI to heal billions and unlock humanity's full potential. In doing so, we're pioneering AI Care, a fundamentally new approach to healthcare built for medical reasoning, safety, and real-time treatment, not generic technology applied after the fact. As both a clinical-centric frontier AI lab and an applied AI platform, Sword is reimagining how care is delivered at scale, removing traditional barriers like appointments, waiting rooms, and stigma so more people can access the care they need—and ultimately get back to lives lived in full. Since 2020, Sword has expanded across physical therapy, women's health, cardiometabolic, and mental health, and is now moving beyond the session to a fully AI-native, 24/7 care program that brings physical activity, therapeutic exercise, psychotherapy, nutrition, and behavior change into one connected experience. More than 700,000 members across three continents have completed over 10 million AI sessions, helping 1,000+ enterprise clients avoid more than $1 billion in unnecessary healthcare costs. Backed by 42 clinical studies, 44+ patents, and more than $500 million raised from leading investors including Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, and Founders Fund, Sword is defining a new standard for healthcare.

AI Proficiency at Sword

AI fluency is a core expectation at Sword. Every candidate is assessed against our three-level framework — be ready to share real examples of how AI is already part of how you work.

• Explorer (Level 1) — Uses AI daily to boost personal productivity
• Builder (Level 2) — Creates workflows and tools that elevate the whole team
• Integrator (Level 3) — Embeds AI into products and processes at scale

Every hire must demonstrate at least Level 1. The expected level will vary depending on the seniority of the role.

About the Role

Sword is seeking a strategic, technology-forward, and execution-oriented Head of Legal Operations to build and scale the systems, processes, and technology that power our Legal department. At Sword, Legal is both a center of expertise and a catalytic operating function. To be a true partner to the business, Legal has to move at the pace and rhythm of the company, and Legal Operations is what makes that possible. As a core member of the Legal leadership team, you will own operational workflows, data, and tools that enable the deep legal knowledge and expertise to reach the business quickly, consistently, and at scale.

As a fast growing healthcare technology company, we are looking for a hands-on leader who thrives in a dynamic environment and is passionate about leveraging AI, technology and automation to improve efficiency and enable the Legal team to scale. The ideal candidate combines strong technical fluency, exceptional project management skills, and a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset, with the ability to move seamlessly between strategy and hands-on execution.

In this role, you will:

• Own our legal technology ecosystem and shape how Legal uses AI and automation
• Embed Legal into the company's operating cadence, aligning with the business on planning, priorities, intake, and delivery
• Drive operational excellence across the department, from workflow design to metrics and reporting
• Lead high-impact strategic projects across Legal and the broader organization

The ideal candidate combines strong technical fluency, exceptional project management skills, and a proactive, solutions-oriented mindset. You can move seamlessly between strategy and hands-on execution, and you are equally comfortable partnering with attorneys and with business and operations leaders. Experience at fast moving technology companies is a must.

Key Responsibilities

Legal Technology, Systems & Operational Excellence

• Own and continuously optimize the Legal department's technology ecosystem, including contract lifecycle management (CLM), matter management, legal intake, knowledge management, and workflow automation platforms.
• Develop and execute a scalable legal technology roadmap, identifying opportunities to integrate AI, automation, and emerging technologies to improve efficiency and support business growth.
• Lead technology evaluations, system implementations, integrations, vendor selection, configuration, and ongoing optimization, including AI-enabled and custom-built solutions.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve scalable legal workflows and processes, including legal intake, contract management, matter tracking, and internal service delivery.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to develop secure, effective, and scalable technology solutions.
• Support Legal leadership with technology budgeting, strategic planning, and operational priorities.
• Drive continuous improvement, process automation, and technology adoption to build a modern, efficient, and scalable Legal function.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of legal operations professionals, setting priorities, driving accountability, and fostering a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.

Strategic Project & Program Management

• Translate strategic priorities into actionable project plans, timelines, milestones, and deliverables.
• Partner with Legal, Commercial, Finance, and other business stakeholders to drive initiatives forward.
• Proactively manage competing priorities, dependencies, risks, and project roadblocks to ensure timely and successful execution.
• Establish project management frameworks, processes, and reporting mechanisms to drive accountability, alignment, and visibility.
• Lead change management efforts to support successful implementation and adoption of new systems, processes, and initiatives.
• Provide clear, concise updates to Legal leadership on project progress, challenges, and outcomes.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in legal operations, legal technology, strategic project management, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience owning, implementing, and optimizing legal technology platforms, including CLM or comparable enterprise systems.
• Experience designing scalable workflows, improving processes, and implementing operational best practices.
• Experience evaluating and implementing AI-enabled tools, automation solutions, or technology-driven process improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, take ownership of initiatives, and drive results with minimal oversight.
• Strong technical aptitude and experience collaborating with IT, Engineering, and other technical teams.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, navigate ambiguity, and balance strategic priorities with hands-on execution.

Preferred

• Experience in healthcare technology, digital health, life sciences, or another highly regulated industry.
• Experience building or scaling legal operations in a startup or high-growth company, including managing other legal operations team members.
• Familiarity with legal technology platforms such as Ironclad, Spotdraft, or comparable solutions.

Benefits

• Sword also offers additional benefits beyond total compensation.
• Country-specific benefits may vary and will be detailed separately.

*The range below reflects base, variable, and equity for this role. This is a starting point, not a ceiling — once someone joins and proves they're outlier talent, we adjust quickly to make sure their compensation matches their impact. Job titles may span more than one career level, so actual pay depends on skills, qualifications, experience, location, and market demand, among other factors. The range reflects base salary plus any variable, bonus, or sales incentives, and our estimate of the value of private company stock options where applicable. It's subject to change, and future stock value isn't guaranteed. Sword also offers additional benefits beyond total compensation.

Total Compensation Range$213,793—$335,961 USD

Sword Health complies with applicable Federal and State civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of Age, Ancestry, Color, Citizenship, Gender, Gender expression, Gender identity, Gender information, Marital status, Medical condition, National origin, Physical or mental disability, Pregnancy, Race, Religion, Caste, Sexual orientation, and Veteran status.