Legal Counsel

River AI•Palo Alto, CA

12d•Onsite

About The Position

River AI is hiring its second attorney to advise a fast-growing AI lab. The Legal Counsel will serve as a primary legal advisor to the business, working directly with founders and leaders across engineering, research, product, people, and go-to-market. The role spans commercial, product, corporate, employment, and novel legal issues arising from frontier technologies, and includes support for financing rounds. The position combines hands-on legal work with building the legal function. The Legal Counsel will draft and negotiate agreements, counsel on AI/ML products and regulatory issues, manage outside counsel, and develop processes and AI tooling to help the company work efficiently. The role is based on-site in Palo Alto, California, Monday through Friday, and requires full-time availability in a fast-paced startup environment. Expected annual base pay is $330,000–$380,000, depending on experience and skills, plus equity.

Requirements

J.D. from an accredited law school.
Active membership in the California bar or eligibility to register as in-house counsel in California.
At least 6 years of combined experience at a top law firm and in-house at a high-growth technology company, with significant ownership of product, commercial, corporate, or other legal subject matter expertise.
First-principles approach, including the ability to address unfamiliar legal questions, form an informed view quickly, and recognize when to consult a specialist.
Strong drafting and negotiation skills, with judgment to provide concise, risk-calibrated, business-forward advice.
Discretion and sound judgment when handling sensitive matters and information, and ability to build trust across the company.
Genuine enthusiasm for technology and AI, fluency in modern software and AI tooling, and a habit of using those tools to work faster and better.
Clear written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to make complex legal issues understandable to non-lawyers.
Able to work full-time on-site in Palo Alto to support a fast-growing startup.
Able to work in a fast-paced startup environment.

Nice To Haves

Privacy or regulatory expertise, including CIPP/US and EU certifications or experience negotiating directly with regulators around the world.
Engineering or science background.
Experience with healthcare and financial verticals.
Familiarity with equity management platforms such as Carta.
Experience with financing rounds.

Responsibilities

Serve as a primary legal advisor to the business and partner directly with founders and leaders across engineering, research, product, people, and go-to-market.
Support financing rounds.
Draft, negotiate, and close commercial agreements end-to-end, including compute/infrastructure, SaaS, licensing, vendor, partnership, and customer agreements.
Build contract templates and playbooks to support company growth.
Provide product counseling on AI/ML offerings from design through launch, including terms of service, data licensing and provenance, open-weight model releases, privacy, and IP strategy.
Advise on employment matters throughout the employee lifecycle, including offers, equity, contractor/EOR arrangements, workplace policies, and sensitive investigations, in coordination with the People team.
Track and interpret federal, state, and international AI regulatory developments and translate them into practical guidance and compliance programs.
Manage outside counsel efficiently, determining what to handle directly and when and how to escalate.
Build the legal function by improving processes, implementing AI tooling, and driving issues to resolution.