Counsel / Senior Counsel

insitro•South San Francisco, CA

2d•$170,000 - $217,000•Hybrid

About The Position

insitro is a physical AI company dedicated to unlocking causal human biology and accelerating the delivery of better medicines to patients. Our unique Virtual Human™ platform identifies novel, high-impact genetic intervention points, which our TherML™ platform translates into therapeutics, whether small molecules, biologics, or oligos. With multiple programs in metabolic disease and neuroscience advancing toward the clinic, and our first CTA/IND submission slated for the second half of this year, we are at a pivotal inflection point. We are seeking a pragmatic, high-output attorney to join our Legal team as Counsel or Senior Counsel, with level set by experience. You will be the daily legal partner to research, lab and technical operations, IT, procurement, finance, and HR, covering commercial and operational matters, compute and infrastructure. This is a high-volume role on a small team: you will own your matters end to end, build and enhance the templates and processes the company runs on, and have an opportunity to grow your scope as insitro grows. You will also be practicing at the frontier of two fields that are both moving fast, drug discovery and artificial intelligence, often on questions that have no settled answer yet. The Legal department here is small, senior, and low-ego, with a genuine seat at the table: scientists, engineers, and the management team come to us early rather than at the end. We are building the function itself, including how AI reshapes legal work, so you will have real influence over the tooling, templates, and processes insitro uses for years. Based in South San Francisco, this position reports directly to the Associate General Counsel and offers an in-person hybrid schedule of three days per week.

Requirements

2–7+ years practicing law at a law firm and/or in an in-house legal department
J.D. from an accredited U.S. law school and admission in good standing to at least one State bar, preferably California, or eligibility for California registered in-house counsel status
Demonstrated track record drafting and negotiating commercial and technology agreements at volume, with increasing independence
Proven track record using AI tools in legal practice, contract review and drafting, research, and workflow automation, with sound judgment about their limits and appropriate use
Prioritize and advance many matters at once under the resource and time constraints of a small, fast-paced environment
Move multiple matters forward without waiting to be asked, and know what deserves attention first
Distill complex legal topics into clear, actionable guidance
Bring discretion, professionalism, and attention to detail, plus a collaborative style that builds trust across the company and with third parties

Nice To Haves

Experience in life sciences or biotech, and comfort working directly with scientists and engineers
Comfort using, or eagerness to learn, AI tools and workflows in legal practice, including contract review and drafting, research, and workflow automation
Familiarity with data use and acquisition agreements, AI/ML legal issues, cloud and compute contracting, and open source licensing
Prior exposure to employment law matters and to immigration in coordination with outside counsel, and experience selecting or administering CLM or legal workflow tools

Responsibilities

Draft, review, and negotiate the agreements that run the company day to day, including CDAs, MSAs and SOWs, consulting agreements, and vendor, supplier, and equipment terms
Serve as a primary legal contact for the business and R&D teams, triaging incoming requests, setting expectations, driving matters to close on business timelines, and escalating issues to the AGC as needed
Supporting onboarding and offboarding processes, as well as contractor and similar engagements
Support lab operations and R&D teams on MTAs, research services agreements, and reagent and instrument purchases, working directly with scientists to turn experimental plans into workable contract terms
Support CMC and Research & Development teams on CRO and CDMO agreements
Negotiate the cloud, compute, and infrastructure agreements that underpin insitro's machine learning platforms
Own and improve contract templates, trainings, playbooks, approval workflows, and CLM tooling so routine work moves faster with less legal involvement
Put AI tools to work inside the Legal function to accelerate contract review, drafting, and knowledge management
Provide business-oriented advice colleagues can act on without a follow-up meeting

Benefits

Annual Performance Bonus Plan
Equity Incentive Plan
401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support
Open, flexible vacation policy
Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)
Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
New hire stipend for home office setup
Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid
Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area