Commercial Counsel
Commercial Counsel roles at AI companies involve drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a high volume of commercial agreements—from enterprise SaaS and licensing deals to vendor and partnership contracts—while serving as a trusted advisor to sales, product, and leadership teams. These positions distinguish themselves by requiring fluency in AI-specific legal considerations like data governance, security compliance, and responsible AI frameworks, alongside traditional technology transaction expertise. Commercial Counsel typically sit within rapidly scaling legal teams embedded in hypergrowth companies, working closely with go-to-market functions to balance legal risk with business velocity, establishing scalable contracting processes, and providing pragmatic guidance that translates complex legal concepts for non-lawyer stakeholders.
Skills
What companies are looking for in this role.
Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts across diverse agreement types
Managing complex enterprise software-as-a-service and technology licensing transactions
Providing pragmatic legal counsel that balances risk mitigation with business velocity
Negotiating with enterprise customers and external counsel to achieve fair deal closures
Supporting go-to-market teams and sales functions to enable rapid revenue growth
Building and maintaining standardized contract templates, playbooks, and legal processes
Advising on data privacy, information security, and compliance requirements for technology transactions
Conducting legal due diligence on commercial transactions and counterparties
Managing procurement and vendor agreements for software, hardware, and services
Managing cross-border and international commercial transactions
Supporting partnership and strategic alliance agreements across business models
Advising on intellectual property rights, including open source software considerations
Structuring complex real estate and infrastructure transactions for data centers
Handling contract disputes, bid protests, and claims resolution
Advising on export controls, sanctions, and international trade compliance
Advising on artificial intelligence-specific legal and regulatory considerations
Navigating government procurement regulations and public sector contracting requirements
Supporting responsible AI development initiatives and governance frameworks
Building credible relationships with business stakeholders across technical and operational teams
Operating effectively in fast-paced, high-growth technology environments
Translating complex legal and technical concepts into actionable business guidance
Collaborating cross-functionally with engineering, product, finance, and compliance teams
Managing multiple parallel projects and high-volume contract workflows with attention to detail
Acting as trusted advisor and strategic partner to business leaders on deal structure and risk
Exercising sound business judgment and pragmatism when analyzing costs and benefits of legal solutions
Communicating complex commercial and regulatory matters clearly to non-lawyer audiences
Leading and mentoring legal teams to build scalable commercial legal functions
Technology
The tools and technologies that define this role.
Open Jobs
59 open Commercial Counsel jobs across 23 companies.
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