far.ai - General Counsel
Requirements
• We expect our GC to use AI legal tools as a core part of their practice. Comfort using tools like Claude for Legal, or equivalents, is part of how we expect legal work to be done at FAR.AI http://FAR.AI. • Strong judgment and comfort making calls with imperfect information. You can translate legal complexity into clear recommendations for non-lawyers. • Demonstrated experience across the full scope of a legal function: contracting, governance, employment, data privacy, and compliance. You don't need to be a specialist in all of them, but you do need experience in different areas. • Track record of building, not just maintaining. You have stood up legal programs, or at least key parts, from scratch and made them stick. • Experience at a technology or AI organization. • Comfort using AI legal tools such as Claude for Legal or equivalent. • Experience in fast-paced environments. You've worked in startups, nimble nonprofits, or high-growth teams before and can adapt to change quickly. • Nonprofit experience, including 501(c)(3) governance and grantmaking compliance. • Experience with international entities, especially related-party flows, transfer pricing, EoR arrangements, and standing up subsidiaries. • An active US bar membership in good standing. • Experience contributing to an impact-driven organization or passionate about AI safety. • Full time or part time, with a preference for part-time/fractional • We are open to an employment relationship, an independent contractor engagement, or an engagement through your firm. • Location: Berkeley, CA (onsite/hybrid) or Remote, based in the US. International remote considered for the right candidate. • Full-time: 40 hours/week • Part-time: 12 to 32 hours per week, depending on scope, with flexibility to adjust over time. • Compensation: Based on structure and experience, using an annualized employment salary of $250,000 - $350,000 as a reference. We will also pay for work-related travel and equipment expenses, and offer catered lunch and dinner at our office in Berkeley. • Reporting: Reports to a member of the executive team. • Hiring process: A phone screen, an interview with the hiring manager, a scenario-based interview, a values interview with a member of our executive team, a final conversation with the hiring manager, and reference checks. • If you have any questions about the role, please do get in touch at [email protected]. If you don't have questions, the best way to ensure a proper review of your skills and qualifications is by applying directly via the application form. Please don't email us to share your resume (it won't have any impact on our decision). Thank you!
Responsibilities
• Commercial contracting. Partner with leaders across the organization to review, advise, and draft contracts for grants, consulting agreements, vendor contracts, compute commitments, research partnerships, and any other needs. Advise on risk and commercial terms across the organization. • Contractual compliance. Oversee FAR.AI http://FAR.AI's compliance obligations across its contract portfolio (government, commercial, and grant agreements), in coordination with the operations team. • Internal policies. Support and build FAR.AI http://FAR.AI's policies across employment, data privacy, conflicts of interest, and related areas. Keep policies concise, current, practical, and accessible. • Governance and related-party matters. Support board governance, related-party relationships, and compliance for the 501(c)(3), LLC, Singapore CLG, and future entities. • Employment. Partner with the People team on offers, contractor agreements, visa issues, international hiring, performance matters, and policy updates. Keep FAR.AI http://FAR.AI compliant with employment law across jurisdictions. • Data privacy and security. Partner with and advise Operations to improve and maintain our data protection program covering employee data, research data, and partner data. Support or own incident response readiness, partner diligence, and compliance (e.g., GDPR). • Intellectual property. Steward IP ownership, licensing, and protection across entities and partnerships, including research IP, trademarks, and licenses. • Statutory reporting and compliance. Support Operations on filings across entities: federal and state, Singapore, charity filings, registrations, and other obligations. • Risk assessment. Contribute to the organization’s risk register. Recommend mitigations proportionate to exposure. Own the solutioning of complex legal challenges e.g., cross-border, multi-jurisdictional exposure, export controls, etc. Engage external counsel when the situation warrants it.
Benefits
• FAR.AI http://FAR.AI is entering a pivotal phase of growth, backed by over $75M in funding and expanding opportunities to shape how advanced AI systems are developed and governed. Our work spans technical research, policy, and operations, including partnerships, such as red-teaming frontier models with leading AI companies and governments. FAR.AI http://FAR.AI also runs the events, programs, HR, communications, and community spaces that connect the global AI safety ecosystem. We are leveling up our legal capacity as the scope and impact of our work accelerate. • Your work, as FAR.AI http://FAR.AI’s General Counsel, will enable much of what we do, from funding AI safety research and events to expanding into new geographies. If you join, you're not supporting the organization; you're building the institutional backbone of a field that didn't exist five years ago. • For lawyers who enjoy building (e.g., would be excited to build a legal agent), who are proactive problem-solvers, and who roll up their sleeves to get things done, this is a rare opportunity to drive long-term societal impact.
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