General Counsel

About OpenRouter: OpenRouter is the unified interface for artificial intelligence, connecting developers and global enterprises to the world’s leading AI models through a single, highly performant platform. Launched in 2023, OpenRouter has rapidly scaled into one of the fastest-growing companies in the AI ecosystem. Operating profitably, we build critical tech infrastructure that allows companies to access, compare, route, and deploy AI models at scale. We act as a central hub across model developers, infrastructure providers, and customers ranging from independent creators to large-scale enterprise partners.

Position Overview

We are seeking a pragmatic, commercial, and highly trusted General Counsel to join our executive team under a permanent, full-time remote framework open exclusively to candidates based in the United States. As OpenRouter’s first-ever senior legal leader, you will step up to claim absolute legal function architecture, corporate risk strategy, and cross-functional legal roadmap accountability. Shifting completely away from routine back-office documentation filing, generic human resource workflows, or disconnected paralegal tasks, you will run an active corporate transaction, regulatory compliance, and multi-sided marketplace advisory laboratory—partnering face-to-face with our CEO, COO, and Board of Directors. This position requires a legal authority with 10+ years of tech-focused experience who shapes commercial agreements fluidly natively using Legal Consultant methodologies, evaluates evolving AI regulatory developments cleanly under global compliance frameworks, and guides complex enterprise deals confidently to accelerate revenue generation without bottlenecking corporate speed.

Key Responsibilities

• Executive Advisory & Legal Strategy: Serve as a core strategic partner to the CEO, COO, and Board, translating legal complexity into clear, actionable business judgments that mitigate corporate risk natively utilizing Legal Consultant pathways.
• Commercial & Enterprise Contracting: Own end-to-end legal support for enterprise contracts, partnering directly with GTM, Finance, and Security squads to accelerate multi-sided demand agreements.
• Provider and Vendor Ecosystem Standardizations: Support and standardize intricate commercial agreements across a massive, expanding network of model providers, infrastructure labs, and third-party software vendors.
• Platform Compliance and Governance: Define and oversee the high-level compliance roadmap, managing terms of service, acceptable use policies, privacy mechanics, and cross-border sanctions or export controls.
• Corporate Governance & Corporate Development: Manage investor-related legal frameworks, entity structures, board mechanics, and future venture financings or strategic M&A acquisitions from diligence to integration.
• Legal Operations Infrastructure: Build a responsive internal intake, prioritization, and ownership system for all legal assignments, successfully managing outside contractors and external counsel pools.

Required Skills & Qualifications

• Possession of an accredited Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree alongside a verified active state bar membership.
• A minimum of 10+ years of professional history providing legal counsel across technology companies, venture-backed startups, corporate transactions, or M&A lines.
• Proven capacity to manage a diverse, multi-disciplinary legal roadmap independently without requiring an extensive supporting team on day one.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with a track record of building immediate cross-functional trust with executive stakeholders.
• Strong commercial judgment with a proven capability to balance speed, corporate risk, and aggressive business growth outcomes.
• Location Context: Position operates under strict remote parameters open exclusively to qualified legal leaders residing within the United States .

Preferred Strategic Indicators (Nice to Have)

• Prior experience serving as an in-house General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, or senior director at a fast-growing software company.
• Deep professional familiarity with software infrastructure, digital marketplaces, developer platforms, data clouds, or emerging AI technologies.
• Experience converting evolving AI regulations, trust & safety frameworks, or jurisdictional compliance patterns into functional company policies.

What We Offer

• Competitive executive salary package aligned with a rapidly growing, highly profitable AI infrastructure leader.
• Absolute remote-first layout empowering you to manage the corporate legal footprint from any home-office workspace in the US.
• Comprehensive health, medical, and holistic insurance provisions.
• High-impact professional footprint as a founding member of the internal legal division, steering the structural future of global AI routing.