Director of Legal Operations

Lightning AI•San Francisco, NY

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Lightning AI is seeking a Director of Legal Operations to be the operational backbone of its Legal team. This senior, cross-functional role is for a self-directed operator skilled in building structure, driving outcomes, and solving problems proactively. The individual will own the systems, tools, and processes necessary for the legal function to scale with the company's growth and will act as a strategic partner to the VP of Legal and the wider organization. The role is based in New York City or San Francisco, requiring two days per week in the office. The position reports directly to the VP of Legal.

Requirements

10+ years of legal operations experience, either in-house at a technology company or at a law firm in a legal operations or practice management capacity.
Prior startup or high-growth company experience is required; you must have operated in environments where resources are constrained and speed matters.
Hands-on experience implementing and managing legal technology platforms, including CLM systems and KYC tooling; familiarity with the broader legal tech landscape (e-billing, matter management, workflow automation) is a strong plus.
Demonstrated familiarity with core legal operational matters, including corporate entity management, cap table administration, IP and open-source licensing, and vendor and outside counsel management.
Proven ability to build and maintain metrics, dashboards, and reporting frameworks; comfort working with data and presenting operational insights to senior leadership.
Strong project management and cross-functional collaboration skills; you are comfortable leading initiatives that span Finance, People, Engineering, and Infrastructure simultaneously.
Exceptional discretion, judgment, and accountability; this role handles highly sensitive information and requires someone who inspires trust across the organization.
A proactive, ownership-oriented mindset: you identify what needs to be done and do it. You do not wait to be managed, and you measure your success by outcomes, not activity.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with the broader legal tech landscape (e-billing, matter management, workflow automation) is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

Own and drive the Legal team’s operational strategy, including setting quarterly priorities and targets, tracking progress against department goals, and delivering clear reporting to the VP of Legal and executive leadership.
Establish and maintain metrics, dashboards, and reporting frameworks that give the Legal team and its stakeholders real-time visibility into workload, performance, and outcomes.
Prepare high-quality executive materials, including board and leadership presentations, department reviews, and briefing documents on behalf of the Legal team.
Evaluate, implement, and administer legal technology, including Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), regulatory and KYC tooling, ensuring strong adoption, ongoing optimization, and integration with enterprise systems.
Redesign and continuously improve legal processes, building scalable workflows, playbooks, and templates that allow the Legal team to handle growing demand without proportional headcount growth.
Partner with Finance on corporate entity management and tax matters, ensuring accurate records and timely coordination on multi-entity legal and financial obligations.
Work with the People team to administer cap table management, equity plan operations, and related employee equity matters in coordination with outside counsel and Finance.
Coordinate with the Infrastructure team on hardware and software inventory management, ensuring the Legal team maintains accurate, up-to-date records for compliance and audit purposes.
Partner with the Engineering team on IP portfolio tracking and open-source licensing management, including maintaining license registers, advising on use policy, and flagging compliance risks.
Lead cross-functional legal operational initiatives end-to-end, from scoping and stakeholder alignment through execution and measurement, with minimal supervision.