Senior Counsel, Commercial (Enterprise)

📋 Description

• • Perplexity AI is seeking a highly skilled and commercially astute Senior Counsel, Commercial (Enterprise) to join our dynamic legal team. This pivotal role will serve as the primary legal advisor for our rapidly expanding enterprise business, overseeing the entire commercial legal lifecycle for Perplexity Enterprise Pro and API customers. You will be instrumental in negotiating and closing complex enterprise agreements, while simultaneously building the robust and scalable legal infrastructure necessary to support our accelerated growth trajectory without introducing undue risk.
• • In this hands-on position, you will collaborate closely with our enterprise sales, go-to-market (GTM), security, and product teams. Your expertise will be crucial in facilitating deal closures, fortifying our data security and compliance contracting framework, and acting as a trusted advisor on the unique legal challenges inherent in operating at the forefront of artificial intelligence technology. The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in negotiating enterprise SaaS and API agreements, a deep understanding of data privacy and security regulations, and the practical judgment to make sound, principled risk assessments independently.
• • This is a high-impact opportunity for a commercially minded attorney who thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments. You will be expected to be a true partner to the sales organization, driving efficiency without becoming a bottleneck, and contributing significantly to building a best-in-class legal function within one of the most consequential AI companies globally.
• • Key Responsibilities:
• • Lead the end-to-end process of drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a wide array of commercial agreements for Perplexity Enterprise Pro and API customers. This includes Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Order Forms, SaaS subscription agreements, API terms, Data Processing Agreements (DPAs), Business Associate Agreements (BAAs), and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). You will be expected to manage these deals from the initial redline through to final signature.
• • Act as the primary legal liaison and trusted advisor to our enterprise sales and GTM teams. Your role will involve providing swift, practical, and business-aligned legal counsel designed to accelerate deal velocity while rigorously managing risk.
• • Proactively advance Perplexity's compliance and data security contracting posture. This entails negotiating DPAs, security addenda, and responding to customer security and compliance questionnaires, working in close alignment with our dedicated Security and Privacy teams.
• • Provide expert counsel on AI-specific legal considerations that are integral to our enterprise and API agreements. This includes advising on acceptable use policies, data retention and training restrictions, output liability, and navigating the evolving landscape of regulatory requirements such as the EU AI Act, CCPA/CPRA, and GDPR.
• • Develop and maintain scalable legal infrastructure to support our high-volume enterprise deal flow. This includes creating and refining contract templates, negotiation playbooks, and fallback positions to streamline the sales cycle and reduce friction.
• • Implement and continuously enhance legal processes and tools, such as Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) systems and self-serve workflows. The goal is to empower the business to operate with speed and agility while maintaining essential visibility and control over contractual commitments.
• • Foster strong cross-functional partnerships with Product, Engineering, Security, Finance, and Compliance teams. Your objective will be to identify and mitigate legal risks early in the development and sales cycles, particularly concerning data usage, enterprise integrations, and customer-specific compliance mandates.
• • Stay abreast of the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape impacting enterprise AI and SaaS products. Translate emerging requirements into practical contractual guidance and policy recommendations for internal stakeholders.
• • Contribute to the development and implementation of legal strategies that support Perplexity's business objectives and risk appetite.
• • Manage and prioritize a diverse workload, ensuring timely and effective delivery of legal services to internal clients.
• • Engage in continuous learning to stay current with legal developments in AI, data privacy, and commercial contracting.
• • Support the broader legal team on various initiatives as needed, demonstrating flexibility and a willingness to contribute across different areas of legal practice.
• • Champion a culture of compliance and ethical conduct throughout the organization.
• • Participate in the continuous improvement of legal department operations and best practices.