Managing Counsel, Data Center & Infrastructure

Cerebras Systems; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Cerebras Systems is seeking a Managing Counsel, Data Center & Infrastructure in Sunnyvale, CA. You will lead end-to-end legal strategy for data center acquisitions, negotiate leases, and manage long-term relationships with operators, financiers, and customers.

This role involves advising on post-acquisition matters, governance, and risk, with a hands-on approach to evolving priorities in a growing technology infrastructure company.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of direct legal experience in data center/critical infrastructure transactions.
• Experience negotiating complex leases or colocation agreements.
• Ability to lead transactions across business and technical teams with urgency.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end legal strategy for data center acquisitions and digital infra transactions.
• Negotiate single-tenant, powered-shell and build-to-suit leases; colocation and connectivity agreements.
• Manage long-term legal relationships with data center operators, financiers, and customers.
• Advise on post-acquisition matters including construction, supply chain, and regulatory issues.
• Advise on corporate structure, governance and risk in infrastructure deals.

Skills

Legal experience

Contract negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Diligence leadership

Regulatory issues

Strategic advisory

Risk management

Hands-on execution

Education

J.D. degree

Job description

Cerebras Systems builds the world's largest AI chip, 56 times larger than GPUs. This architecture allows Cerebras to deliver industry-leading training and inference speeds; over 10 times faster than GPU-based hyperscale cloud inference services.

This order of magnitude increase in speed is transforming the user experience of AI applications, unlocking real-time iteration and increasing intelligence via additional agentic computation.

Cerebras works with the leading model labs, global enterprises, and cutting-edge AI-native startups. OpenAI recently announced a multi-year partnership with Cerebras, to deploy 750 megawatts of scale, transforming key workloads with ultra high-speed inference.

About the role

As Managing Counsel, Data Center & Infrastructure you will lead major data center acquisitions and development transactions. Working with the Global Data Centers team, this attorney will structure and negotiate complex deals, including financing components, and manage long-term infrastructure relationships.

This visible, hands-on role offers ownership of transactions central to the company’s growth and the opportunity to take on broader strategic responsibility as the business expands.

Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end legal strategy for data center acquisitions and other digital infrastructure transactions, including diligence, deal structuring, financing components, negotiation and closing.
• Negotiate single-tenant, powered-shell and build-to-suit leases; colocation, capacity reservation, development and connectivity agreements.
• Manage long-term legal relationships with data center operators and lessors, financing sources and customers purchasing capacity.
• Advise on post-acquisition matters, including construction, design, long-lead equipment, supply chain, regulatory issues and disputes.
• Advise on corporate structure, governance and risk in connection with infrastructure transactions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of direct legal experience with or at data center providers, neo-clouds or hyperscalers on real estate and physical infrastructure transactions.
• Experience negotiating complex leases or colocation agreements. Familiarity with single-tenant facilities and behind-the-meter power arrangements is particularly valuable.
• Track record of leading sophisticated transactions across business and technical teams, managing interdependencies and moving deals forward with urgency.
• Ability to negotiate technical terms involving compute infrastructure, hardware specifications, data center operations, equipment, power and utilities requirements.
• Experience with transaction diligence, regulatory issues and dispute resolution, and the agility to learn adjacent practice areas.
• Practical judgment and a hands‑on approach as priorities evolve.
• J.D. and active bar admission required. A mix of leading law firm and in‑house experience is preferred.

Why Join Cerebras

People who are serious about software make their own hardware. At Cerebras, we have built a breakthrough architecture that is unlocking new opportunities for the AI industry. With dozens of model releases and rapid growth, we’ve reached an inflection point in our business. Members of our team tell us there are five main reasons they joined Cerebras:

1. Build a breakthrough AI platform beyond the constraints of the GPU.
2. Publish and open source their cutting‑edge AI research.
3. Work on one of the fastest AI supercomputers in the world.
4. Enjoy job stability with startup vitality.
5. Our simple, non‑corporate work culture that respects individual beliefs.

Find out more about what it's like to work at Cerebras here!

Cerebras Systems is committed to creating an equal and diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate different backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We believe inclusive teams build better products and companies. We try every day to build a work environment that empowers people to do their best work through continuous learning, growth and support of those around them.

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