Vice President, Legal - San Francisco Bay Area (Hybrid) (954-SLS)

Solutus Legal Search•San Francisco Bay Area, CA

12h•Hybrid

About The Position

Our client, a next generation interactive consumer AI company, is seeking a Vice President, Legal. This is a highly visible, first-in role that will report directly to the Chief Operating Officer and serve as a key strategic advisor to the leadership team. This legal executive will be responsible for building and leading the company’s legal function from the ground up, partnering cross-functionally across product, engineering, operations, and finance while managing outside counsel and establishing scalable legal infrastructure. The company is a well-capitalized, high-growth organization operating at the intersection of consumer technology, social platforms, and generative AI, creating an entirely new category of digital experience. Backed by top-tier investors and led by a high-profile visionary founding team, the organization is entering a period of rapid scale. This foundational leadership role offers the opportunity to build a function from scratch, work directly with an experienced leadership team, and tackle novel legal questions at the intersection of AI, content, and consumer technology, providing significant responsibility and long-term upside for an attorney excited by innovation and dynamic environments.

Requirements

10–15+ years of legal experience, including a combination of top law firm and in-house experience within consumer technology, social media, or content platforms with highly scalable, fast-paced environments.
Deep expertise in commercial contracting, data privacy, and trust & safety.
Familiarity navigating regulatory frameworks impacting digital products (e.g., TCPA, data protection, and content moderation).
Pragmatic, business-minded lawyer who is comfortable operating both strategically and hands-on in a fast-paced environment.
Proven ability to build processes, manage risk thoughtfully, and partner effectively with cross-functional stakeholders.
Collaborative, low-ego approach and a genuine interest in working at the forefront of technology and product innovation.

Nice To Haves

Experience advising on emerging AI-related legal issues is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Build the legal function: Transition the Company from reliance on outside counsel to an efficient, in-house legal operation, leveraging external expertise as necessary and hiring additional internal resources as needed.
Own commercial contracting: Draft, review, and negotiate a variety of agreements — from enterprise deals to creator contracts.
Navigate trust & safety and privacy: Partner closely with the Trust & Safety and Product teams on TCPA, emerging regulatory issues, particularly around data privacy, AI safety, content moderation and compliance.
Support corporate and transactional work: Advise on M&A and acqui-hire activity, employment matters and board/governance issues.
Partner cross-functionally: Work closely with Finance, HR, and Ops on company-wide risk management, compliance, and policy initiatives.
Advise executives: Be a trusted thought partner to the senior executives including the President, Operations leaders and the CEO/Founder - balancing legal judgment with business sense in a high-growth industry.