Sr Legal Counsel

About the Role Our client, a venture-backed AI infrastructure startup serving large enterprises, is hiring a Senior Legal Counsel as its first legal hire. You will build the legal function from the ground up, reporting to a senior operations leader. Most of your time will go to leading commercial contract negotiations with enterprise customers, with the balance spent as a trusted generalist advisor on corporate, compliance, and employment matters as the company grows. This is an uncommon chance to shape how a fast-growing AI company handles legal risk and process, with direct visibility into deals, product strategy, and executive decision-making. Responsibilities Own commercial contracting end-to-end: draft, negotiate, and close enterprise customer agreements (MSAs, order forms, DPAs, security and privacy addenda) with large enterprise customers, balancing legal risk against sales velocity Build the legal function from scratch, including templates, playbooks, and approval workflows, so the business can scale without legal review becoming a bottleneck Act as primary legal advisor to the executive team on corporate matters: entity governance, board materials, equity administration, and support for future fundraising Own compliance and risk across data privacy and security certifications (SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA) and emerging regulatory considerations relevant to an AI product operating inside customers’ production environments Advise on employment matters (offer letters, policies, terminations) and partner with operations leadership on vendor and procurement contracts Manage outside counsel relationships across specialty areas (IP, litigation, international expansion) for efficient, cost-effective use of external legal spend Proactively flag legal and regulatory risk to leadership as the company expands into new markets and customer segments Qualifications J.D. and active bar admission; New York admission preferred Corporate law experience combined with hands-on commercial contract negotiation at an early-stage startup (a firm requirement) 7+ years of legal experience with a mix of law firm training and in-house work, ideally at an enterprise software or B2B SaaS company Deep expertise drafting and negotiating enterprise commercial agreements (SaaS terms, MSAs, security addenda, DPAs) with sophisticated enterprise counterparties Working knowledge of data privacy and security frameworks (CCPA, GDPR, SOC 2) relevant to software with access to customer production systems Comfortable operating as a generalist, able to triage corporate, employment, and compliance questions and elevate to outside counsel when needed Willing and able to work in person 5 days per week in the company’s New York City office Strong business judgment, balancing legal risk against commercial speed in a fast-moving startup environment Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain legal concepts clearly to non-legal stakeholders Preferred Skills Experience with AI/ML-specific legal and regulatory issues (AI governance frameworks, model risk, emerging AI regulation) Experience supporting fundraising (venture financings, SAFEs, board governance) Familiarity with contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools and legal operations processes Compensation and Benefits Base salary range of $300,000-$400,000 for this full-time, in-person role in New York City, plus equity. Individual compensation is determined by experience, skills, and job-related knowledge Startup equity Health insurance Fertility benefits Tech setup stipend Flexible time off Why Join This is a place to take on hard, meaningful problems with real ownership from day one. You will work alongside people who push you to grow, learn constantly, and help define a new category of infrastructure software. The team thinks long term, moves quickly, and holds a high bar without taking itself too seriously. The company is fully in-office, 5 days a week, in New York City, with a collaborative, hard-working culture. Empower JobID 2764 #J-18808-Ljbffr Empower Associates, LLC