Senior Commercial Counsel

Decagon; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Take what you need vacation policy (UK

Medical, Dental, Vision benefits

Life Insurance & Disability

Retirement Plan (401K)

Parental Leave

Fertility and family benefits

Daily lunches and snacks

Job summary

Decagon is building a leading conversational AI platform and seeks a Senior Commercial Counsel to shape the legal foundation of our fast-growing company. You will negotiate enterprise SaaS agreements, MSAs, and partner deals while partnering with Sales, Security, Product, and Leadership to scale contracting processes globally.

You will guide teams on GDPR/CCPA/HIPAA, AI governance, and risk-aware negotiation, balancing business outcomes with legal protections.

Qualifications

• 4–8+ years of legal experience in top law firm or in-house.
• Drafting, negotiating, and closing high-volume commercial agreements.
• Fluent in GDPR/CCPA/HIPAA, security concepts, AI governance.
• Balancing risk with business outcomes; tailoring guidance by deal stage.
• Thrives in cross-functional environments; go-to legal resource.
• Eager to grow in a fast-growth startup; scalable legal systems.

Responsibilities

• Review and negotiate our commercial agreements cross-functionally.
• Build relationships and guide sales teams on technology norms.
• Define standards for a legal team in a hypergrowth startup.
• Design, update, and enforce contracting policies and controls.
• Grow with the team and take on broader Commercial legal tasks.

Skills

SaaS contracts

MSAs & SOWs

NDAs & DPAs

AI governance

Privacy laws

Contract negotiations

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

About Decagon

Decagon is the leading conversational AI platform empowering every brand to deliver concierge customer experiences. Our technology enables industry-defining enterprises like Avis Budget Group, Block’s Cash App and Square, Chime, Oura Health, and Hunter Douglas to deploy AI agents that power personalized, deeply satisfying interactions across voice, chat, email, SMS, and every other channel. We’re building a future where customer experiences are being redefined from support tickets and hold music to faster resolutions, richer conversations, and deeper relationships. We’re proud to be backed by world-class investors who share that vision, including a16z, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue, and Index Ventures, along with many others. We’re an in-office company, driven by a shared commitment to excellence and velocity. Our values — Just Get It Done, Invent What Customers Want, Winner’s Mindset, and The Polymath Principle — shape how we work and grow as a team.

About The Role

We’re looking for experienced Senior Commercial Counsel to join Decagon and help shape the legal foundation of our fast-growing AI company. As a key early hire in this role, you will join a team of legal professionals working as trusted partners to teams across Sales, Security, Product, and Leadership. From negotiating complex enterprise SaaS agreements to streamlining contract operations, you’ll play a pivotal role in accelerating revenue, protecting the business, and building scalable legal infrastructure from the ground up.

In This Role, You Will

• Be a part of a team reviewing and negotiating our commercial agreements, working cross functionally to balance legal risk with business outcomes, tailoring your guidance based on context and deal stage.
• Build relationships throughout our company, and serve a solutions oriented partner to provide guidance to sales teams based on our technology, market norms, and your experience.
• Define what excellent looks like on a legal team in a hypergrowth startup - establish working norms and process to provide top-tier service.
• Work to design, update, and enforce policies and controls over Decagon’s contracting process.
• Grow with the team as Decagon scales, and be open to taking on new challenges outside of Commercial legal as appropriate.

Your background looks something like this

• Are a qualified attorney in your jurisdiction with 4 – 8+ years of legal experience, including time at a top‑tier law firm and/or a relevant in‑house role.
• Have deep experience drafting, negotiating, and closing on a high volume of commercial agreements, including SaaS, MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, DPAs, and partner/reseller deals.
• Are fluent in legal frameworks (like GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA), security concepts, AI governance, and intellectual property concerns that arise in SaaS transactions.
• Understand how to balance legal risk with business outcomes, and can tailor guidance based on context and deal stage.
• Thrive in cross‑functional environments and are comfortable being the go‑to legal resource for Sales, Finance, Product, and RevOps as we build out a global contracting process.
• Can leave your ego at the door and communicate clearly and effectively, translating legal complexity and abstract risk into actionable guidance for internal non‑legal stakeholders - and do the same with counterparties who may not be at the same level of sophistication.
• Are flexible, eager to learn and grow, and are energized by fast growth, ambiguity, and the opportunity to build scalable legal systems that drive velocity.

Even Better If You Have

• Have in‑house legal experience at a high‑growth SaaS or technology company.
• Have a process‑building mindset, and have worked closely with RevOps or LegalOps on CLM tools and Salesforce integrations.
• Are experienced leading customer‑facing contract negotiations directly with enterprise clients, and especially highly‑regulated customers (financial services, healthcare, SLED & FED).
• Have negotiated AI terms with counterparties - and can articulate common issues with brevity.
• Have built and maintained legal playbooks, fallback clause libraries, and approval workflows.
• Have trained commercial teams on contract review, negotiation strategy, or compliance topics, and are eager to mentor junior colleagues.

Compensation

Comp: $250,000 — $300,000 + Equity

Benefits

• Take what you need vacation policy (subject to local requirements; UK employees receive 25 days of statutory leave)
• Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits for you and your family
• Life Insurance and Disability Benefits
• Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K, pension)
• Parental Leave
• Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot
• Daily lunches and snacks in the office to keep you at your best

These benefits are described in more detail in Decagon’s policies, may vary by location, and can change at any time according to applicable compensation and benefits plans.