TL;DR

Senior Counsel (AI): Owning Descript's day-to-day legal operations, including commercial deals, AI product counsel, and employment matters. Focus on building scalable legal processes, managing compliance, and advising on legal implications of AI/ML features.

Location: San Francisco, CA. For those who are remote, there are a handful of opportunities throughout the year for in-person collaboration. For hybrid roles, flexibility is offered with the expectation of valuable collaboration moments in the office.

Salary: $225,000–$275,000

Company

Descript is building a simple, intuitive, fully-powered editing tool for video and audio built for the age of AI.

What you will do

  • Draft, review, and negotiate SaaS agreements, licensing deals, partnership agreements, and vendor contracts.
  • Review and negotiate customer enterprise agreements.
  • Oversee offer letters, separation agreements, equity grants, and employment questions (CA + multi-state).
  • Manage trademark and patent matters in partnership with outside counsel.
  • Own DPAs, data subject requests, and cross-border data transfer requirements.
  • Advise product and engineering teams on legal implications of AI/ML features.
  • Track compliance across key frameworks (SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA) and monitor regulatory developments affecting AI/ML products.
  • Support board minutes, equity plan administration, and consent actions.
  • Interface with outside counsel on complex matters, managing scope and spend.
  • Design and implement scalable legal processes from scratch.

Requirements

  • JD from an accredited law school; active member of the California Bar (or ability to waive in).
  • 7-10 years of legal experience, including at least 2-3 years in-house at a technology or SaaS company.
  • Law firm background (BigLaw or strong mid-market) plus in-house experience.
  • Strong commercial contracts experience.
  • Working knowledge of employment law (California required, multi-state a plus).
  • Familiarity with IP basics and privacy/data protection.
  • Experience building or maintaining a compliance program.
  • Comfortable operating as a solo legal practitioner with outside counsel as a resource.
  • Pragmatic judgment.

Nice to have

  • Familiarity with enterprise sales contracts and procurement processes.
  • M&A due diligence experience.
  • Experience at a company of similar stage (Series C-D, 100-500 employees).

Culture & Benefits

  • Build the legal function from the ground up, defining processes, tools, and culture.
  • Direct access to executive leadership, partnering with the VP of Finance & Operations.
  • Work on novel AI/ML licensing, product counsel, and regulatory questions.
  • Opportunity for growth into Head of Legal / General Counsel.
  • Mission-driven company democratizing video and audio creation.
  • Generous healthcare package, 401k matching program, catered lunches, and flexible vacation time.