# Legal Operations Lead

**Company:** [hud](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/hud)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Legal
**Skills:** Legal Operations, Contract Management, Commercial Agreements, Data Licensing, Intellectual Property, Legal Technology, Workflow Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Negotiation, Document Management, Microsoft Service Agreements, Statements Of Work, Service-Level Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Vendor Agreements
**Posted:** 2026-09-02

> Own and scale HUD’s legal operations infrastructure while drafting and negotiating commercial technology agreements. The role combines contracting judgment with workflow automation, legal technology, and strategic outside-counsel management in a fast-growing AI startup.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Own HUD’s end-to-end legal operating system, including intake, prioritization, contracting workflows, approvals, escalation paths, document management, and outside-counsel coordination.
- Draft, review, and negotiate routine commercial agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, data licenses, SLAs, NDAs, vendor agreements, and bespoke arrangements.
- Build and improve templates and negotiation playbooks for recurring issues such as data rights and usage restrictions.
- Automate and streamline high-volume legal workflows using software and AI while preserving appropriate human review.
- Establish guidelines for internal handling, standardization, automation, and escalation to founders or outside counsel.
- Manage outside counsel by scoping work, preparing issues, controlling legal spend, and directing specialist matters appropriately.

## Requirements
- Experience in legal operations, contracts management, commercial operations, transactional legal work, business operations, or a combination thereof at a fast-growing technology company.
- Strong experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial technology agreements.
- Judgment to distinguish routine contracting issues from matters requiring specialist legal advice.
- Comfort with legal technology, workflow tools, and AI, with an interest in making legal work faster and more scalable.
- Strong commercial judgment and ability to balance legal risk, speed, customer needs, and business priorities.
- Excellent written communication, attention to detail, and confidence pushing back constructively with customers, vendors, and internal stakeholders.

## Nice-to-haves
- Legal training or experience at a law firm or in-house legal team.
- Experience building or scaling legal operations, contract management, or a deal desk from an early stage.
- Experience with data licensing, intellectual property-intensive transactions, marketplaces, or businesses where contractual rights are closely tied to the product.
- Experience managing outside counsel.
- Early-stage startup experience and ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment.
- Technical aptitude and learning potential.

## Compensation and Benefits
- Competitive compensation.
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage for US employees.
- Office-provided lunch and dinner.
- PTO, paid holidays, and a company-wide holiday break.
- Equinox membership, 401(k), and commuter benefits for US employees.
- Access to ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, and other AI tools.

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