Head of Legal
7AI
Location
Boston, MA
Employment Type
Full time
Location Type
Hybrid
Department
G&A
We’re hiring our first legal leader — someone to build the legal function from 0 → 1.
This is a rare opportunity to define what legal looks like at a high-growth company from the earliest stages. You’ll operate as both a strategic partner and a hands-on builder, working closely with leadership to shape how we take risk, support the business, and scale responsibly.
We’re looking for someone who brings strong judgment, clear opinions, and a builder mindset — someone excited to design the function, not just inherit it. As the company grows, this role will naturally expand in scope and impact alongside it.
What you’ll do
Build the legal function from scratch — defining what needs to exist now vs. later
Create scalable processes, templates, and systems that enable the company to move quickly
Decide what to own in-house vs. outsource, and manage external counsel as needed
Act as a strategic partner to leadership on risk, structure, and key business decisions
Own and evolve core legal workflows across commercial contracts (customer + vendor)
Advise on product, data privacy, and regulatory considerations (especially in SaaS/AI contexts)
Support corporate governance, entity management, and employment-related legal matters
Reduce friction across teams by building lightweight, usable processes and clear guidance
Lay the groundwork for scaling the legal function and evolving toward a future GC org
What we’re looking for
8+ years of legal experience (mix of law firm and in-house strongly preferred)
Experience working at or closely with startups, ideally in SaaS or tech
Comfort operating as a team of one (at least initially)
Strong business judgment — you know when to push, when to flex, and when to simplify
A bias toward action and pragmatism over perfection
Ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, usable guidance
Opinions about how a modern legal function should operate — and the ability to execute on them
Nice to have
Experience as an early or first legal hire at a startup
Familiarity with data/privacy, AI/ML, or emerging regulatory environments
Experience supporting go-to-market teams (sales, partnerships, procurement)
Interest in eventually building and leading a team