Role OverviewHiggsfield AI is seeking an Associate General Counsel to partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Security teams as we build the next generation of AI-powered creative tools. This role will lead legal support for product development, privacy, AI governance, and regulatory strategy-helping teams ship innovative products quickly while thoughtfully managing legal and compliance risk. The ideal candidate is a pragmatic, product-minded attorney who thrives in fast-moving environments and enjoys solving complex challenges alongside technical teams.
What You'll DoPartner with Product & Engineering- Serve as the primary legal partner to Product, Engineering, Design, AI Research, and Security teams throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Advise on the design, development, launch, and iteration of AI-powered products and features, providing practical, product-focused legal guidance.
- Partner early with product teams to identify legal and regulatory considerations, enabling innovation while thoughtfully managing risk.
- Collaborate with technical teams to develop scalable solutions that balance user experience, business objectives, and compliance requirements.
Lead Privacy & AI Governance- Advise on global privacy, data governance, and AI regulatory matters, including the collection, use, retention, and sharing of user and training data.
- Partner with Product, Engineering, and Security to implement privacy-by-design principles across products and internal systems.
- Help develop governance frameworks for emerging AI technologies, responsible AI, data usage, intellectual property, and evolving regulatory requirements.
- Monitor developments in global privacy and AI regulations and translate new requirements into practical guidance and operational processes.
Drive Product Launches & Cross-Functional Execution- Lead legal workstreams for new product launches, coordinating across Product, Engineering, Security, Design, Trust & Safety, and Executive Leadership.
- Manage complex, cross-functional initiatives by driving timelines, aligning stakeholders, and removing blockers to execution.
- Build scalable legal review processes that enable rapid product development while maintaining appropriate legal and regulatory guardrails.
- Develop playbooks, templates, and workflows that improve collaboration between Legal and product teams.
Support Commercial & Strategic Initiatives- Provide practical legal guidance on commercial, corporate, intellectual property, and operational matters that support product growth.
- Advise leadership on legal risks associated with new technologies, strategic partnerships, platform integrations, and global expansion.
- Partner with cross-functional leaders to balance legal risk with product velocity and business priorities.
- Contribute to company-wide strategic initiatives outside of traditional legal work as a trusted business partner.
Build Scalable Legal Infrastructure- Help establish repeatable processes, governance frameworks, and operational tools that allow the Legal function to scale alongside the business.
- Improve visibility into legal priorities through effective project management, documentation, and stakeholder communication.
- Identify opportunities to streamline legal operations and improve efficiency across Product, Engineering, and Legal teams.
- Foster a collaborative, solutions-oriented partnership with teams across the company, enabling rapid execution while supporting responsible innovation.
What We're Looking For- Strong business judgment and ability to provide practical, solutions-oriented legal advice in a fast-moving environment.
- Broad experience across corporate, commercial, operational, regulatory, employment, privacy, compliance, and general technology-related legal matters.
- Intellectual curiosity and willingness to quickly learn new areas of law and business operations as company needs evolve.
- Low-ego, highly execution-oriented mindset. Someone who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves and handling both strategic initiatives and day-to-day legal work.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to translate complex legal concepts into clear, business-friendly guidance for cross-functional stakeholders and leadership.
- Comfort operating in a fast-paced, high-growth, highly collaborative environment with globally distributed teams.
- J.D. and active membership in at least one state bar with ability to practice in-house in California.
- 6+ years of legal experience, ideally including a mix of law firm and in-house experience.
- Strongly preferred: prior experience supporting high-growth technology or AI-driven companies.
Compensation & BenefitsWe offer a competitive and thoughtfully structured compensation package designed to align with impact and growth.
Base Salary: The anticipated salary range for this role is $240,000 - $290,000 depending on experience, skills, and location.
In addition to cash compensation, we offer equity and a benefits package to support you both professionally and personally.
