Counsel, Contracts & Legal Operations

At Serve Robotics, we’re reimagining how things move in cities. Our personable sidewalk robot is our vision for the future. It’s designed to take deliveries away from congested streets, make deliveries available to more people, and benefit local businesses. The Serve fleet has been delighting merchants, customers, and pedestrians along the way in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta and Chicago while doing commercial deliveries. We’re looking for talented individuals who will grow robotic deliveries from surprising novelty to efficient ubiquity. Who We Are We are tech industry veterans in software, hardware, and design who are pooling our skills to build the future we want to live in. We are solving real-world problems leveraging robotics, machine learning and computer vision, among other disciplines, with a mindful eye towards the end‑to‑end user experience. Our team is agile, diverse, and driven. We believe that the best way to solve complicated dynamic problems is collaboratively and respectfully. This role combines day‑to‑day transactional legal work with responsibility for designing and optimizing the systems and processes that support the legal function at scale. The Counsel, Contracts & Legal Operations will manage a portfolio of commercial agreements across SaaS, vendor, and customer transactions while simultaneously driving the adoption and implementation of AI‑powered legal tools and workflow automation. The ideal candidate is equal parts skilled transactional attorney and forward‑thinking operations leader, comfortable negotiating complex agreements and building the infrastructure that makes legal a business accelerator. Job Duties Lead end‑to‑end vendor and commercial contract negotiations, including drafting, redlining, and resolving contested business and legal issues across SaaS subscriptions, master services agreements, procurement contracts, data processing agreements, and terms of service. Identify, evaluate, and deploy AI‑powered legal solutions (e.g., contract lifecycle management platforms, AI‑assisted review and abstraction tools, clause libraries) to accelerate throughput, reduce cycle times, and scale the contracting function to meet growing business demand. Build and own a library of standardized contract templates, negotiation playbooks, and approved fallback positions that enable business teams to self‑serve on routine transactions, reduce legal bottlenecks, and enforce consistent contracting standards at scale. Drive proactive legal operations initiatives that identify inefficiencies, redesign workflows, and implement automation to eliminate manual bottlenecks and establish repeatable, scalable processes across the legal department. Partner directly with Procurement, IT, Finance, Security, and Sales teams to guide vendor onboarding, resolve contracting questions, and ensure compliance with company standards throughout the deal lifecycle. Conduct risk assessments on proposed commercial arrangements, flagging material exposures related to indemnification, liability allocation, intellectual property, data privacy, and regulatory compliance. Define, track, and maintain contract and legal operations metrics, including cycle time, volume, key terms, risk areas, self‑service adoption rates, and cost savings from automation, and deliver regular reporting to leadership and the broader organization. Develop and deliver training programs for cross‑functional stakeholders on contract processes, negotiation guardrails, and the effective use of legal technology tools, driving adoption and reducing dependency on legal for routine matters. Experience, Qualifications, & Skills Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA‑accredited law school. Active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar. Minimum of three (3) years of legal experience with substantial focus on commercial contracts, including drafting, negotiation, and advisory work across SaaS, technology, or professional services transactions. Demonstrated ability to independently manage a diverse portfolio of agreements from intake through execution with minimal supervision. Strong understanding of standard commercial contract provisions, including indemnification, limitation of liability, intellectual property licensing, confidentiality, and data privacy. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, actionable guidance for non‑legal stakeholders. Proven ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high‑quality work product under time pressure in a fast‑paced environment. Preferred Experience, Qualifications, and Skills Two or more years of in‑house legal experience at a technology, SaaS, or high‑growth company. Proven track record of evaluating, selecting, and implementing AI‑powered legal tools (e.g., contract lifecycle management systems, AI‑assisted contract review, automated clause extraction, or intelligent triage solutions). Experience developing and maintaining contract playbooks, template libraries, and self‑service portals for business users. #J-18808-Ljbffr Serve Robotics