Lead AI & Privacy Counsel

Laurel•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

Laurel is seeking a Lead AI & Privacy Counsel to serve as the founding legal partner for the company's product, data, and AI strategy. This high-impact role is central to responsible AI development and deployment in enterprise environments. The position sits at the intersection of Product, Legal, and Go-To-Market, collaborating directly with Product, Engineering, Security, and Sales to guide Laurel's data usage, AI system design, and customer trust initiatives. This is not a compliance or generalist legal role; it involves owning and building the AI, privacy, and data domain from the ground up.

Requirements

10+ years of experience, including meaningful work in privacy, data, or AI-related legal issues.
Strong background in product counseling, data privacy, or technology transactions (law firm and/or in-house).
Experience advising on AI/ML, data usage, or emerging tech.
Commercially minded: understand how legal decisions impact revenue, deal velocity, and customer outcomes.
Builder mindset: create structure where none exists and enjoy owning a domain from 0 → 1.
Business-oriented: calibrate risk, not just identify it.
Clear communicator: turn complex regulation into actionable guidance.
Ownership mentality: want to own a domain, not just support it.
Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent and active bar membership.

Responsibilities

Advise on AI/ML product development, including data usage, model behavior, and feature design.
Embed in the full product lifecycle (design → development → launch → iteration), shaping decisions early.
Help define Laurel’s approach to responsible AI (transparency, explainability, risk boundaries).
Own Laurel’s privacy and data strategy across the product and customer lifecycle.
Build scalable frameworks for data usage, classification, retention, and governance.
Lead data protection, security, and AI-related terms in enterprise agreements (DPAs, security addenda, AI provisions).
Track and operationalize compliance with evolving regulatory regimes (GDPR, CCPA, EU AI Act, UK ICO, etc.).
Translate regulatory ambiguity into clear, practical, product-aligned guidance.
Partner with Security and Compliance on audits, certifications, and trust programs.
Partner with Sales and GTM leadership on AI, privacy, and security positioning in enterprise deals.
Support deal strategy where data usage, AI functionality, or security posture are gating factors.
Help turn privacy and AI governance into a competitive advantage.
Develop clear, reusable narratives and materials that enable Sales to address customer questions.
Create Laurel’s first-generation playbooks, principles, and decision frameworks for AI and data.
Own Laurel’s internal POV on AI, privacy, and data.
Lay the groundwork for future team expansion in this domain.