Commercial and Product Counsel at Arceus in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT

At Arceus, we believe the way companies receive legal support is overdue for reinvention.

Legal teams are expected to move faster than ever across commercial, product, privacy, procurement, and operational work, but the tools and delivery models available to them haven't kept pace.

We're building the legal infrastructure layer for modern companies — combining experienced attorneys with intelligent technology to deliver high-quality legal services at the speed growing businesses demand.

Our attorneys don't just practice law; they shape the systems, playbooks, and technology that make every engagement better than the last, turning legal expertise into scalable workflows that redefine how legal work gets done.

If you're excited to help build the future of legal services across the breadth of an in-house legal function, we'd love to meet you.

This is an in-person role based in San Francisco.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are seeing incredible demand for our product. The market is open for us to capture and emerge as the winners in this new category.

This is a rare chance to:

• Build the legal infrastructure layer that modern companies rely on
• Turn existing judgment and playbooks into innovative products
• Own meaningful equity in a company reshaping a trillion dollar market
• Help define how technology transforms the delivery of legal services over the next decade

IDEAL CANDIDATE

You're an attorney who thrives as a trusted partner to fast-moving companies. You've spent years advising on commercial transactions, ideally with real exposure to product, privacy, and the day-to-day legal grind. You move fast, give practical advice, and catch the details everyone else misses.

We're especially excited to meet attorneys who've been the sole counsel or first legal hire somewhere. You're comfortable wearing multiple hats and balancing competing priorities across the legal function.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

• Day 7: You're onboarded onto our tooling and workflows, and reviewing client legal matters independently at our quality bar
• Day 14: You've documented review playbooks for your recurring contract types, privacy, and product inquiries, and are consistently hitting quality and turnaround standards
• Day 30: You've helped codify how Arceus reviews commercial contracts, advises on product matters, and contributed to a product moat your playbooks made possible, and set a standard the rest of the team ramps against

WHAT YOU’LL OWN

You'll serve as Commercial and Product Counsel and help us scale contract review and legal operations. You'll work directly with customers as an extension of their in-house team, delivering practical, business-first advice. This is a high-responsibility, detail-obsessed role for someone energized by complex systems, sharp execution, and the intersection of law and technology.

• Review and negotiate commercial contracts; advise on product and privacy matters across the day-to-day needs of growing tech companies
• Partner closely with legal and product teams to move contracts through efficiently and accurately
• Interpret contract terms and surface key obligations, risks, and anomalies
• Operate our internal tooling to streamline review and partner with product and engineering to make the platform faster and more accurate over time
• Spot inefficiencies and patterns in the review process, then fix them
• Standardize and codify recurring contract types, review playbooks, and quality bars
• Protect turnaround and SLA commitments
• Partner with operations to evolve how we deliver legal services as we scale

We ask a lot because we are building an exceptional company. In return, you'll get a fast-track opportunity to grow your career, take on responsibility far beyond your experience level, and learn what it takes to build a disciplined, relentless, world-class organization.

EXPERIENCE

• J.D. and active bar membership in good standing in California
• 5-8 years of experience practicing law, with significant experience supporting technology companies; experience as in-house counsel or as a sole legal counsel is required
• Corporate, commercial, product, and privacy law; EC/VC exposure a plus
• Impeccable attention to detail; you spot the small stuff others miss
• Thrives in high-intensity, fast-paced environments and consistently operates with urgency
• Excited to work in a fast-paced, in-person environment, put in long hours alongside the team, and spend Saturdays collaborating on product
• Experience with, or real excitement about, AI-assisted legal workflows
• Strong grounding in professional responsibility and legal ethics
• Excellent written and verbal communication

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience: $150,000 – $210,000
• Competitive equity in the company
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage
• Catered lunches and dinners at the office
• Wellness and learning stipends
• Option to contribute to a 401(k)
• Unlimited PTO