Counsel, Product

Perplexity•San Francisco, CA

7d•$200,000 - $265,000

About The Position

Perplexity is AI for people who expect more. More accuracy. More agency. More signal, less noise. Our answer engine handles hundreds of millions of queries every month for people whose questions spark change and whose decisions bend the world toward progress. Our legal team works side by side with product and business teams. We help the company move quickly, make sound risk decisions, and build legal requirements into products and operations from the start. About the Opportunity We are looking for a practical, versatile attorney to join our Product, Privacy and Regulatory Legal team. You will have a clear center of gravity in consumer protection and a flexible mandate across product counseling, privacy, regulatory matters, marketing, subscriptions, and international expansion. This is not a narrow subject matter role. You might advise on a new consumer product flow one day, assess an advertising or subscription practice the next, and help respond to a regulator or customer escalation after that. You will work directly with Product, Engineering, Growth, Marketing, Support, Security, GRC, Policy, and Communications. The right person can identify the legal issue quickly, learn the product deeply, and give the business a practical path forward. You will own matters independently and help turn recurring questions into clear guidance and durable systems. This role Reports to the Senior Director, Product, Privacy and Regulatory Legal.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited law school, or an LL.M or equivalent law degree, and current authorization to practice law in the U.S. state where you are located
At least five years of relevant legal experience at a law firm, government agency, or in house, with meaningful consumer protection or product counseling experience
Strong command of U.S. consumer protection law and enforcement principles, including Section 5 of the FTC Act and state unfair or deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) laws
Experience with several of the following areas: subscriptions and auto-renewal, advertising and marketing, privacy and data protection, payments, promotions, platform regulation, or AI governance
Ability to lead a product or regulatory matter independently, from fact development through recommendation and execution
Excellent judgment. You know what to decide, what to escalate, and how to explain risk without slowing the business unnecessarily
Clear, direct writing and the ability to translate legal requirements for product, engineering, and business teams
Comfort learning technical systems and asking precise questions about how products, data flows, and controls actually work
Hands-on attitude, low ego, intellectual curiosity, and comfort with ambiguity in a fast-moving environment
Genuine interest in AI products and the legal questions created by how people use them

Nice To Haves

Experience at the FTC, a state attorney general's office, or another consumer protection or privacy regulator
In-house experience at a consumer technology company, online platform, marketplace, or subscription business
Experience handling regulator inquiries, investigations, or consumer class action risk
Working knowledge of the CCPA/CPRA, GDPR, state privacy laws, ROSCA, CAN-SPAM, TCPA, COPPA, state auto-renewal laws, or similar international consumer regimes

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary legal partner for consumer products and features from early design through launch and post-launch review
Advise on consumer protection issues, including unfair and deceptive practices, disclosures, pricing, subscriptions, renewals, refunds, promotions, advertising claims, dark patterns, and customer support practices
Review marketing, growth, and advertising initiatives, including adtech and martech integrations, audience practices, email and messaging campaigns, and product claims
Counsel product and engineering teams on privacy, data use, consent, retention, security, AI transparency, age-related protections, and other legal requirements
Lead legal review of cross-functional launches and translate complex requirements into practical product and operational choices
Support responses to consumer complaints, state attorneys general, competition authorities, privacy authorities, and other regulators around the world, in partnership with the regulatory lead and outside counsel
Assess incidents and escalations that cross product, privacy, consumer protection, contractual, and regulatory lines
Monitor legal developments affecting AI products and online services, then convert them into clear advice, playbooks, and product requirements
Help build scalable legal infrastructure, including templates, review standards, decision records, training, and self-service guidance
Flex across the broader Product, Privacy and Regulatory Legal portfolio as company priorities and risk change