Lead Counsel, Product and IP

scaleai

San Francisco, CA · San Francisco · United States

Posted Jan 21, 2026

Full-time
Legal & GRC

Job description

Come join our legal team to work on the most exciting legal, policy, and operational issues at the leading edge of AI. We're seeking strong product lawyers with specialized expertise in intellectual property law. As product counsel, you will advise on all legal aspects of product development, launch, and operations - including regulatory compliance, user terms, and risk management - while bringing deep expertise in your specialized legal area.

The ideal candidate will have deep subject matter expertise in intellectual property law, a technology background, and a demonstrable history of providing practical product counsel to solve complex, time-sensitive problems in close partnership with cross-functional teams. This role reoprts to the Associate General Counsel, IP & Product.

You will:

Strategic Product Advice: Lead IP strategy for product development, embedding IP protection into the full product lifecycle from conception to commercialization, while also advising on related product and regulatory matters in collaboration with the broader legal team.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Research, Product, Engineering, Operations, Communications, and Marketing teams to mitigate IP risks in product development, data licensing, and open-source governance.
IP Counsel: Support management of Scale's worldwide IP portfolio including patents and trademarks; assist with patent prosecution and trademark registration and enforcement.
Risk Mitigation: Advise on third-party, synthetic, and open-source data and models, ensuring compliance with licensing requirements; design open-source governance policies.
Agreements: Support drafting and negotiation of commercial agreement provisions involving intellectual property.
Specialized Expertise: Provide counsel on machine learning, robotics, and other technical areas, with ability to engage effectively with technical teams on complex engineering and product issues.
Training: Develop and deliver IP and data licensing training to enhance Scale's compliance culture.

Ideally you'd have:

Experience: 5+ years of experience in intellectual property law at a top-tier law firm and/or in-house legal department (ideally product counseling within a high-growth technology company). Experience advising on broader product or regulatory matters is a plus.
Education: JD and active membership in at least one U.S. state bar (California preferred) in good standing.
Strategic Thinking: Ability to think strategically at a high level and from deep in the details to drive complex problem-solving and develop creative, business-forward solutions.
Risk Calibration: Ability to calibrate risk, distinguish business from legal risk, and communicate it clearly to executive, business, and technical audiences.
Collaboration: Roll-up-your-sleeves attitude to tackle projects large and small with a low-ego, collaborative approach across the organization.
Agility and Organization: Ability to think quickly in a fast-paced environment with excellent organizational and communication skills.
Technical Fluency: Deep interest in artificial intelligence, generative AI, and machine learning technology, with the ability to engage effectively with technical teams.

Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.

Please reference the job posting's subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the locations of San Francisco, New York, Seattle is:

$227,200—$284,000 USD

PLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.

About Us:

At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.

We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@scale.com. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.

We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.

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