Legal Operations Associate

About Abaka AI

Abaka AI is built on one mission: to be the world's most trusted data partner for AI companies. More than 1,000 industry leaders across Generative AI, Embodied AI, and Automotive AI rely on us to power their data pipelines. With our headquarters in Silicon Valley-and teams in Paris, Singapore, and Tokyo-we support global partners with fast, reliable, and scalable data solutions.

Our offerings include a diverse catalog of off-the-shelf datasets (image, video, multimodal, reasoning, 3D, and beyond) as well as comprehensive data collection and annotation services. Whether teams need raw data, curated datasets, or full-cycle data engineering, Abaka AI provides the foundation for building high-performance AI systems.

About the Role

We're hiring a Legal Operations Associate who will play a central role in strengthening Abaka AI's legal infrastructure as we scale globally. In this position, you will own contract lifecycle management, support compliance initiatives, and serve as a key operational partner between leadership and external legal counsel.

You will help ensure our vendor agreements, client contracts, and corporate documentation are structured, organized, and proactively managed. As one of the early operations hires in the United States, you will help build scalable legal processes that support rapid company growth.

Responsibilities

• Manage the full contract lifecycle, including drafting, organizing, tracking, and maintaining NDAs, MSAs, DPAs, SOWs, and vendor agreements.
• Review contracts and summarize key terms and risk areas, including liability caps, indemnification, termination clauses, payment terms, and data usage provisions.
• Coordinate with external legal counsel on redlines, revisions, and compliance matters.
• Maintain corporate records, board documentation, and regulatory filings.
• Support privacy and data protection compliance initiatives across global operations.
• Develop and improve internal contract management systems and documentation workflows.
• Track contract deadlines, renewals, and key obligations to ensure proactive risk management.
• Provide finance support by assisting with invoice review, payment tracking, and contract-related financial reconciliation.
• Support budget tracking related to vendor agreements and legal expenses.

Qualifications

• 0-3 years of experience in legal operations, paralegal roles, contract management, compliance, or a related field.
• Strong understanding of contract structure and common legal risk areas.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Strong written communication skills with the ability to clearly summarize legal terms and risks.
• Ability to take ownership, manage multiple agreements simultaneously, and operate independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with leadership, operations, and external counsel.
• Experience in AI, data, technology, or high-growth startups is a plus.
• Paralegal certification, CIPP (US/EU), or JD is a plus but not required.

Compensation & Benefits

The base salary range for this position is $85,000 - $100,000 USD annually.

Compensation may vary outside of this range depending on a number of factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies and experience. Base pay is one part of the Total Package that is provided to compensate and recognize employees for their work at Abaka AI. This role is eligible for equity, as well as a comprehensive benefits package (health, dental, vision, PTO, flexible work schedule).