Corporate Counsel

ABOUT AFTERQUERY AfterQuery https://www.afterquery.com/ is an applied research lab curating data solutions for foundation model development. We serve every frontier AI lab with the mission of delivering the best data to power the best models. In doing so, we can make expertise that once took a lifetime to build available to anyone who needs it. Our customers are the ones building the foundation models themselves and our work sits directly in the loop of how those systems improve. This is a rare opportunity to join a company at a defining moment in AI. Forbes reported that we could be YC's fastest unicorn, reportedly raising at a $3.2 billion valuation. We're based in San Francisco and backed by leading investors including Altos Ventures, BoxGroup, and Y Combinator and angels from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta Superintelligence Labs, and Microsoft AI. WHY APPLY Massive Opportunity: Forbes reported that we could be YC's fastest unicorn, reportedly raising at a $3.2 billion valuation, and we're not slowing down. Founding Impact: You will own and architect core infrastructure systems that power our platform from the ground up. Equity & Growth: Competitive salary and meaningful equity. As we scale, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the engineering organization and lead major technical initiatives. Strong Team: Our founding team has experience from Citadel Securities, Meta, Google, Silver Lake, and Morgan Stanley — work alongside world-class engineers and researchers. ABOUT THE ROLE 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. WHAT YOU'LL DO 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 - Support HR compliance projects (e.g., international hiring, policy updates, state-specific requirements) as AfterQuery's footprint grows General Legal & Advisory - Triage incoming legal questions across the business and resolve what's appropriately in-house - Know when to escalate: export control/sanctions review, corporate financing/cap table matters, and data incident/privacy investigations stay with outside counsel — you'll partner with them on these, not run them solo - Help manage the outside counsel relationship and budget as in-house scope grows WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 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 BONUS - 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 - 401(k) with Employer Match - Daily Meals: Daily UberEats Stipend - Monthly Wellness Stipend We are an equal opportunity employer committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination and harassment. Employment decisions are made without regard to legally protected characteristics under applicable federal, state, or local law. We comply with applicable pay transparency requirements and provide compensation ranges based on the position, qualifications, experience, and other relevant factors. Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs, as required by law. This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed and is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, qualifications, or working conditions associated with the position. We reserve the right to modify this job description as business needs change.