Head of Legal

Beacon AI • San Carlos, CA

10d • $225,000 - $275,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Beacon AI is a fast-moving defense tech/dual-use company building an AI platform to make flying safer, more efficient, and more capable. Backed by top investors, they have secured Department of Defense contracts and partnered with major airlines. They operate with small, focused teams that own what they build, ship quickly, and learn fast. This role is crucial for keeping the company moving by owning the day-to-day legal workflow and taking on practical business operations to reduce founder workload. The ideal candidate needs strong judgment, excellent organization, and the ability to drive tasks to completion.

Requirements

• Option A: Senior Paralegal / Contracts & Ops: 5+ years supporting legal work in-house or at a firm (contracts, corporate records, deal coordination).
• Option A: Excellent organization, writing, and the ability to run a process end-to-end.
• Option A: Comfort reading agreements, spotting issues, and escalating appropriately.
• Option B: Juris Doctor (and ideally experience practicing, in-house and/or firm).
• Option B: Hands-on experience negotiating and managing commercial contracts.
• Option B: Strong operational instinct: you build systems, not just redlines.
• You close loops. You don’t let open items sit.
• You can prioritize. You know what’s a real risk vs legal noise.
• You can communicate tradeoffs in plain English and recommend a path.
• You’re comfortable working directly with execs and cross-functional partners.
• Due to U.S. export control regulations, we can only hire U.S. Persons (U.S. citizens, Green Card holders, lawful permanent residents, or individuals granted asylum or refugee status).
• All work must be performed in the United States.

Nice To Haves

• Government contracting exposure (FAR/DFARS basics, primes/subs, flowdowns).
• Export controls familiarity (knowing when to raise a flag and who to call).
• IP workflow experience (invention intake, patent counsel coordination, OSS compliance basics).
• Startup experience (speed, ambiguity, messy inputs).

Responsibilities

• Run intake, drafting, review, negotiation support, signature, and filing for NDAs, vendor agreements, consulting agreements, partnership/pilot agreements, MSAs/SOWs, and basic data/security addenda.
• Maintain contract templates and "fallback positions" that match the company's risk tolerance.
• Keep deals moving by driving timelines, nudging reviewers, and making decisions about what to escalate.
• Coordinate reviews of government and prime/sub agreements (and flowdowns) with outside counsel as needed.
• Track key contract obligations and deliverables (reporting requirements, security requirements, data handling, publication restrictions).
• Help internal teams understand contract terms in plain English.
• Maintain invention assignment and contractor IP paperwork; keep clean records.
• Coordinate with outside counsel on patent filings or trademark basics if/when needed.
• Partner with engineering on lightweight open-source software hygiene (tracking, approvals, basic notices).
• Own offer letter / contractor agreement workflows, confidentiality + invention assignment, and separation paperwork coordination with counsel.
• Keep an organized approach to sensitive issues (routing to counsel, documenting, protecting confidentiality).
• Own a set of recurring operational workflows that keep the company running (e.g., vendor onboarding, insurance renewals coordination, corporate filing coordination, document retention, signature authority matrix, tooling admin).
• Build simple systems: trackers, playbooks, checklists, and a clean source of truth.
• Act as the front door for outside counsel: scope, intake, first drafts, budget discipline, and translating legal advice into next steps.
• Ensure the business gets actionable answers from legal counsel.

Benefits

• Healthcare: 100% of employee medical premiums covered; 25% for dependents
• Time Off: 3 weeks PTO plus 13+ paid company holidays
• Stipends: Monthly phone and wellness benefits
• 401(k): Offered (no current employer match, but we are committed to enhancing this benefit in the future).

What This Job Offers

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