Head of Legal Operations & Chief of Staff

Scale AI•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

The Head of Legal Operations and Chief of Staff acts as the primary strategic partner to the General Counsel, ensuring the department’s operational goals are in lockstep with the company’s broader vision. This role is responsible for turning the Legal & Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) team into a high-performing business unit–- providing the processes, technology, and data insights necessary to enable a 30+-person global team. You will lead a 2-person Legal Operations team, focusing on high-level strategy and enabling your team to lead their respective workstreams with high degrees of autonomy and accountability. You will: Strategic Partnership (Chief of Staff): Partner with the GC and Legal Leadership (Commercial, Corporate, Litigation, Product, GRC, and Public Sector) to define and execute long-term strategy. Own operational planning cycles, including the OKR process, roadmap development, and All-Hands meetings, to ensure cross-functional alignment and maximize the team’s impact. Team Leadership & Mentorship: Manage and mentor the Contracts Manager and Legal Program Manager, empowering them to lead their functional areas with high autonomy. Provide mentorship on a dotted-line basis to subject matter experts (e.g., Corporate Paralegal, Privacy Program Manager), ensuring process consistency and high-standard workstreams across the broader Legal & GRC organization. Success Management: Design and own the reporting framework for tracking departmental success. Oversee the development of automated dashboards that provide real-time progress against goals, utilizing AI to synthesize data into actionable insights for the GC and Legal Leadership Team. Legal Finance & Vendor Strategy: Manage the global Legal budget, forecasting, and accruals. While partnering with the Procurement team for general needs, you will directly lead the strategy for Legal-specific vendors, including outside counsel and legal tech providers. Drive outside counsel management strategy, emphasizing data-driven performance reviews and the negotiation of arrangements that optimize litigation and specialty matter spend. Process & Technology: Maintain and optimize a world-class Legal & GRC tech stack (e.g., CLM, e-billing, and litigation tools). Drive business velocity by designing streamlined intake and triage systems for Product and Engineering teams and implementing practical, automated workflow solutions. Risk & Litigation Operations: Direct the litigation technology strategy, including the legal hold lifecycle and e-discovery workflows, to ensure defensible compliance in partnership with IT and Security. Develop and maintain strategic risk registers that provide the GC, Legal Leadership, and executive leadership with a clear, data-driven view of the company’s risk landscape.

Requirements

Experience: 10+ years of professional experience, with a solid background in Legal Operations, Strategy, or Management Consulting in a high-growth environment.
Education: Bachelor’s degree required.
Technical Proficiency: Practical experience with legal technology (e.g., Ironclad, Brightflag) and a curiosity for how AI/automation can solve routine legal hurdles.
Analytical & Risk Modeling: Ability to design and maintain strategic risk registers and financial models.
You can translate raw data from various workstreams into a cohesive risk landscape (e.g., impact vs. likelihood heatmaps) that informs executive decision-making.
Partner with the GC and Legal Leadership to model potential exposure, manage entity-related risks, and inform corporate reserves.
Mindset: A pragmatic, "get it done" attitude.
You can navigate ambiguity, represent the GC in executive forums, and prioritize the tasks that provide the most value to the department.
Communication: Exceptional ability to translate operational data into clear, concise updates for the GC and executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

An Engineering degree, MBA, or JD is a significant plus.
Familiarity with litigation-specific tools (e.g., Logikcull, Relativity, or specialized legal hold software) is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

Partner with the GC and Legal Leadership (Commercial, Corporate, Litigation, Product, GRC, and Public Sector) to define and execute long-term strategy.
Own operational planning cycles, including the OKR process, roadmap development, and All-Hands meetings, to ensure cross-functional alignment and maximize the team’s impact.
Manage and mentor the Contracts Manager and Legal Program Manager, empowering them to lead their functional areas with high autonomy.
Provide mentorship on a dotted-line basis to subject matter experts (e.g., Corporate Paralegal, Privacy Program Manager), ensuring process consistency and high-standard workstreams across the broader Legal & GRC organization.
Design and own the reporting framework for tracking departmental success.
Oversee the development of automated dashboards that provide real-time progress against goals, utilizing AI to synthesize data into actionable insights for the GC and Legal Leadership Team.
Manage the global Legal budget, forecasting, and accruals.
Directly lead the strategy for Legal-specific vendors, including outside counsel and legal tech providers.
Drive outside counsel management strategy, emphasizing data-driven performance reviews and the negotiation of arrangements that optimize litigation and specialty matter spend.
Maintain and optimize a world-class Legal & GRC tech stack (e.g., CLM, e-billing, and litigation tools).
Drive business velocity by designing streamlined intake and triage systems for Product and Engineering teams and implementing practical, automated workflow solutions.
Direct the litigation technology strategy, including the legal hold lifecycle and e-discovery workflows, to ensure defensible compliance in partnership with IT and Security.
Develop and maintain strategic risk registers that provide the GC, Legal Leadership, and executive leadership with a clear, data-driven view of the company’s risk landscape.