Logo for 7AI

Head of Legal

Roles & Responsibilities

  • 8+ years of legal experience (mix of law firm and in-house strongly preferred)
  • Experience working at or closely with startups, ideally in SaaS or tech
  • Comfort operating as a team of one (at least initially) with strong business judgment
  • Experience as an early or first legal hire at a startup or familiarity with data/privacy, AI/ML, or emerging regulatory environments

Requirements:

  • Build the legal function from scratch, defining what needs to exist now vs later and lay groundwork for scaling toward a future GC org
  • Create scalable processes, templates, and systems to enable fast decision-making and reduce friction across teams
  • Decide what to own in-house vs outsource and manage external counsel; own and evolve core legal workflows across commercial contracts (customer + vendor)
  • Advise on product, data privacy, and regulatory considerations (especially in SaaS/AI contexts)

Job description

We’re hiring our first legal leader — someone to build the legal function from 0 → 1.

This is a rare opportunity to define what legal looks like at a high-growth company from the earliest stages. You’ll operate as both a strategic partner and a hands-on builder, working closely with leadership to shape how we take risk, support the business, and scale responsibly.

We’re looking for someone who brings strong judgment, clear opinions, and a builder mindset — someone excited to design the function, not just inherit it. As the company grows, this role will naturally expand in scope and impact alongside it.

What you’ll do

  • Build the legal function from scratch — defining what needs to exist now vs. later

  • Create scalable processes, templates, and systems that enable the company to move quickly

  • Decide what to own in-house vs. outsource, and manage external counsel as needed

  • Act as a strategic partner to leadership on risk, structure, and key business decisions

  • Own and evolve core legal workflows across commercial contracts (customer + vendor)

  • Advise on product, data privacy, and regulatory considerations (especially in SaaS/AI contexts)

  • Support corporate governance, entity management, and employment-related legal matters

  • Reduce friction across teams by building lightweight, usable processes and clear guidance

  • Lay the groundwork for scaling the legal function and evolving toward a future GC org

What we’re looking for

  • 8+ years of legal experience (mix of law firm and in-house strongly preferred)

  • Experience working at or closely with startups, ideally in SaaS or tech

  • Comfort operating as a team of one (at least initially)

  • Strong business judgment — you know when to push, when to flex, and when to simplify

  • A bias toward action and pragmatism over perfection

  • Ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, usable guidance

  • Opinions about how a modern legal function should operate — and the ability to execute on them

Nice to have

  • Experience as an early or first legal hire at a startup

  • Familiarity with data/privacy, AI/ML, or emerging regulatory environments

  • Experience supporting go-to-market teams (sales, partnerships, procurement)

  • Interest in eventually building and leading a team

Related jobs

Other jobs at 7AI

We help you get seen. Not ignored.

We help you get seen faster — by the right people.

🚀

Auto-Apply

We apply for you — automatically and instantly.

Save time, skip forms, and stay on top of every opportunity. Because you can't get seen if you're not in the race.

AI Match Feedback

Know your real match before you apply.

Get a detailed AI assessment of your profile against each job posting. Because getting seen starts with passing the filters.

Upgrade to Premium. Apply smarter and get noticed.

Upgrade to Premium

Join thousands of professionals who got noticed and hired faster.