Commercial Counsel

Black Forest Labs • San Francisco, CA

12h • Hybrid

About The Position

We are looking for a sharp, motivated, and commercially minded Commercial Counsel to join BFL's legal team. You will support a broad range of commercial transactions spanning our US and EU go-to-market deals, with the majority of deal volume in the United States. This is a high-ownership role in which you will draft and review agreements, lead negotiations, and serve as a trusted advisor to the business on all things commercial. This is an exciting opportunity for a lawyer who wants to work at the cutting edge of AI — advising on novel agreement structures for foundational generative AI models, negotiating complex licensing and API deals, and helping build the legal and commercial infrastructure of a high-growth company.

Requirements

• 7+ years of legal experience, with time spent on commercial transactions in the technology sector; ideally spanning both in-house and external firms.
• Start-up or high-growth company experience would be advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating and closing complex technology agreements, including software licensing, API and platform deals, data and content agreements, and partnership contracts.
• Prior experience supporting both US and EU commercial deals, with comfort navigating cross-border transactions and a strong awareness of key jurisdictional differences.
• Excellent drafting and negotiation skills, with the ability to identify material issues quickly and communicate them clearly to non-lawyers.
• Low ego, high accountability; equally comfortable rolling up your sleeves on routine agreements as you are handling high-stakes or novel deal structures.
• JD from an accredited law school and active bar membership in at least one US jurisdiction; qualification in a UK or EU jurisdiction is highly preferred

Nice To Haves

• Experience with AI/ML, developer platforms, or foundational model licensing
• Exposure to generative AI in prior roles is strongly preferred; familiarity with how AI products are built, licensed, and deployed will meaningfully accelerate your effectiveness in this role
• Familiarity with German corporate law, the EU AI Act, GDPR, or other international regulatory frameworks relevant to AI and data
• Background advising on IP, copyright, or data licensing matters in the context of AI training or model development

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including API licensing, enterprise SaaS, model access and deployment, partnerships, vendor agreements, and NDAs
• Support US and EU commercial transactions, with a primary focus on US deals across a variety of industry verticals, and advise on matters of German corporate law
• Partner closely with the GTM, Marketing, FDE, Infrastructure, and Finance teams to provide practical, deal-enabling legal guidance
• Advise on AI-specific legal considerations, including IP ownership and licensing, training data rights, and evolving regulatory requirements for generative AI
• Develop and maintain scalable legal frameworks, contract templates, playbooks, and approval workflows
• Engage with outside counsel on complex or specialized matters and manage those relationships efficiently
• Contribute to company-wide compliance and legal operations initiatives as the legal team scales

Benefits

• Equity
• Travel costs covered for in-person meetings

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree