3-5 years of experience in a U.S. law firm or in-house legal role, focusing on U.S. and cross-border commercial matters.
Proven ability to draft, review, and negotiate various commercial contracts independently.
Hands-on experience with dispute resolution, including pre-litigation and settlement negotiations.
Active law license in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, preferably California.
Demonstrated capability to work independently in a fast-paced, cross-border environment.
Familiarity with AI-assisted legal tools for efficient contract review and drafting.
Strong business communication skills to translate legal advice into actionable recommendations.
Responsibilities
Own the end-to-end review, drafting, and negotiation of commercial contracts for U.S. and EU markets.
Deliver timely legal advice and risk assessments to commercial and product teams.
Manage dispute resolution matters across U.S. and EU jurisdictions, overseeing outside counsel as needed.
Benchmark and improve commercial contract standards and legal processes against industry best practices.
Coordinate effectively across time zones to ensure smooth collaboration with the Asia-based legal team.
Benefits
Opportunity to join the founding team of a fast-growing startup with significant ownership.
Top-tier healthcare coverage for employees and dependents, including dental and vision.
401(k) plan with company matching for retirement planning.
Unlimited paid time off plus 13 paid holidays.
12 weeks of paid parental leave for new parents, regardless of gender.
Hybrid work model requiring a minimum of 3 in-office days per week.
Provision of top-of-the-line laptops and workstation setups for new hires.
Additional perks including annual offsites, free office snacks, and commuter benefits.
Full Job Description
What you will do
Own end-to-end review, drafting, and negotiation of commercial contracts for the U.S. and EU markets (including service agreements, vendor and customer contracts, NDAs, and partnership agreements) serving as the primary legal point of contact for business stakeholders in the Americas and Europe.
Deliver timely, practical legal advice and risk assessments to commercial, product, and operations teams, translating legal complexity into clear, business-focused recommendations that balance risk against commercial goals.
Manage dispute resolution matters across U.S. and EU jurisdictions, including pre-litigation assessment, evidence gathering, settlement negotiations, and day-to-day oversight of outside counsel on disputes and IP matters.
Benchmark Plaud's commercial contract standards and legal processes against industry best practices, identify gaps, and drive continuous improvement in templates, review turnaround, and risk coverage.
Work effectively across time zones, including availability in the evenings as needed, to ensure smooth handoffs with the Asia-based legal team and keep cross-border matters moving without delay.
Qualifications
3-5 years of experience in a U.S. based law firm and/or in an in-house legal role, with demonstrated experience on U.S. and cross-border commercial matters.
Proven track record independently drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts (service agreements, vendor/customer contracts, NDAs, partnership agreements) through to signature.
Hands-on experience handling or supporting dispute resolution matters: pre-litigation assessment, evidence gathering, settlement discussions, and coordination with outside litigation or IP counsel.
Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (California bar preferred)
Demonstrated ability to work independently in a fast-paced, cross-border environment, owning matters end-to-end with minimal oversight and coordinating across stakeholders in the U.S., EU, and Asia.
Comfortable using AI-assisted legal tools (contract review platforms, legal research tools, LLM-based drafting assistants) to work efficiently without sacrificing accuracy
Strong business communication skills: able to deliver a one-paragraph legal opinion that a non-lawyer business lead can act on immediately, and to push back on unreasonable risk without holding up deals.
Comfortable owning matters across a 12+ hour time difference, proactively flagging blockers and following through without needing to be chased.
Preferred Qualifications
California bar admission and prior experience advising technology, SaaS, AI, hardware, or cross-border consumer products companies on U.S. and EU commercial matters.
Experience with intellectual property matters (patents, trademarks, trade secrets) and/or cross-border regulatory compliance (outside of data privacy/compliance) in a technology or hardware context.
Prior in-house experience at a U.S.-listed or globally operating technology company, or at a Chinese company with significant U.S./EU operations, with demonstrated ability to bridge common-law and civil-law legal systems
Working-level speaking proficiency in Mandarin
What we offer
Founding Team: Opportunity to join the founding team of this new initiative, with meaningful ownership and impact on a fast-growing startup.
Competitive Compensation: $135K-$200K base salary+performance bonus+Equity.
Comprehensive Benefits: Top-tier healthcare for employees and dependents, including dental and vision, and a generous employer subsidy.
Retirement Planning: 401(k) plan for full time employees with company matching.
Paid Time Off: Unlimited PTO, plus 13 paid holidays.
New Parent Leave: 12 weeks of paid time off to spend time with your new family, regardless of gender.
Hybrid Office: Minimum of 3x in office per week.
Gear: New hires are equipped with their choice of new top-of-the-line laptops and workstation setups.
Perks: Best office equipment. Annual offsites. Free office drinks and snacks. Commuter Benefits.
