Corporate Counsel

San Franciscofull timeOn Site

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mid

$225k–$250k

H1B: no

Afterquery The Corporate Counsel at AfterQuery manages commercial contracting and employment law matters as the company scales. This individual contributor role drafts and negotiates contracts and supports employment law compliance within the Operations team.

Responsibilities

AfterQuery is hiring our first dedicated, in-house legal role: a Corporate Counsel who will own commercial contracting and employment law matters as we scale rapidly in revenue and headcount. This is a generalist, individual-contributor role embedded within our internal Operations team. This is not a General Counsel or Head of Legal position.
You'll be the day-to-day legal voice on deals and people matters, working closely with outside counsel on specialized or high-stakes matters. Contract velocity and precision on data rights, compute terms, and compliance matter directly to revenue and risk; getting employment law right matters just as directly to how we scale our team and manage risk as we grow.
Commercial Contracts
Draft, negotiate, and redline data acquisition and data licensing agreements with enterprise customers
Draft and negotiate Master Service Agreements (MSAs), SOWs, and vendor paper for compute/cloud infrastructure providers and frontier lab & other clients
Own data processing agreements (DPAs) and related data rights provisions in customer and vendor contracts
Maintain and improve contract templates, playbooks, and redline positions to speed up deal cycles
Partner with Sales/GTM and Finance on deal structuring, pricing terms, and contract risk tradeoffs
Employment & Labor Law
Draft and review independent contractor agreements, employment agreements, offer letters, and compensation/bonus plan language
Advise People team on day-to-day employment and labor law questions: including but not limited to compensation agreements, equity administration, hiring, separation and termination, leave, wage and hour, and handbook/policy compliance
Advise on worker classification and help manage related compliance risk across engagement types

Qualification

JD and active California bar admissionStrong judgment on risk vsPrior experience with AI/data companiesHealth Insurance

Required

JD and active California bar admission
3-6 years of experience spanning both commercial contracts and employment law
Background at a boutique tech/startup-focused or generalist business law firm, ideally combined with in-house experience at an early-stage tech company
Strong judgment on risk vs. reward tradeoffs; provides decisive recommendations on business and strategy matters informed by legal knowledge
Demonstrated ability to work independently with minimal oversight, including sound judgment on when to escalate to outside counsel
Motivated by hands-on individual contribution rather than team-building; you'd rather solve a problem yourself or find the right tool than hire your way out of it
Strong written and verbal communication skills; experience partnering cross-functionally with Sales, Finance, and People teams
Prior experience with AI/data companies, data / technology licensing, or technology transactions with hyperscalers/cloud providers
Experience as the first or second legal hire at another startup with focus on contract and/or employment law
Experience with equity administration tools (Pulley, Carta) or HRIS platforms (Gusto)
Company Benefits (For Eligible Employees):
Health Insurance: Medical, Vision, Dental