Commercial Counsel (First Legal Hire)

Distyl is an applied AI technology company partnering with the world’s most ambitious institutions to rearchitect critical operations for the frontier of AI. Our customers include the largest companies in telecom, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, consumer goods, and global social organizations.
We research and deploy technologies that power AI-native operations — both for our partners and for Distyl itself. Our work spans research into self-constructing systems, the development of the most reliable execution of AI systems, and products that transform mission-critical workflows. As a result, Distyl's technologies affect some of the world's largest operations — from hundreds of millions of consumer interactions to tens of millions of supply chain transactions and millions of patient journeys.
Distyl is backed by leading investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Coatue, DST Global, and the board-members of 20+ F500s. The results reflect this approach: a 100% production deployment success rate for our customers and one of the few enterprise AI companies to run a profitable business.

Distyl is hiring our first legal councel—a rare opportunity to help build the legal function from the ground up at a company operating at the frontier of AI and enterprise transformation.

We’re looking for a Commercial Counsel who doesn’t just support the business, but accelerates it. This role sits at the center of revenue, product, and partnerships—owning how Distyl structures, negotiates, and scales its most critical commercial relationships.

You will be responsible for removing friction from deals, enabling faster growth, and building the legal infrastructure that allows Distyl to scale with confidence. This is not a traditional counsel role focused on reactive support—this is a builder role for someone who wants to design systems, shape strategy, and directly influence company trajectory.

Over your first year, you will:

• Architect Distyl’s commercial contracting function from first principles

• Lead negotiations on high-impact enterprise and strategic deals

• Build scalable frameworks (templates, playbooks, workflows) that materially improve speed and quality of execution

• Establish legal as a force multiplier across go-to-market and product teams

You’ll operate with high autonomy, deep trust, and a direct line to leadership. The right person thrives in ambiguity, moves with urgency, and applies sound judgment to balance speed with risk.

This role is defined by ownership of outcomes, not just inputs.

• Design the systems, standards, and frameworks that power enterprise and partner agreements at scale

• Drive end-to-end deal execution with customers and strategic partners, aligning legal strategy with business priorities

• Develop templates, playbooks, and workflows that reduce cycle time, increase consistency, and elevate deal quality

• Embed yourself with the Founders, Sales, Product, and Finance to proactively unblock deals and shape commercial strategy

• Provide clear, pragmatic guidance on legal and regulatory considerations without slowing momentum

• Improve tooling, processes, and standards to support rapid, durable growth
  

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar admission

• 10+ years of experience in commercial contracting and corporate legal work

• Proven track record of leading complex, high-value negotiations end-to-end

• Exceptional communicator who can translate legal nuance into business clarity

• Strong operator mindset—comfortable in fast-paced, ambiguous environments

• Demonstrated ability to build scalable systems, not just manage transactions

• In-house experience at a high-growth technology company

• Deep familiarity with SaaS, enterprise, platform, or partner agreements

• Experience with legal tech, CLM systems, or automation tooling

• Exposure to product-related legal areas (e.g., data privacy, IP, compliance)
  

• The base salary range for this role is $180K – $250K, depending on experience, location, and level. In addition to base compensation, this role is eligible for meaningful equity, along with a comprehensive benefits package

• 100% covered medical, dental, and vision for employees and dependents

• 401(k) with additional perks (e.g., commuter benefits, in‑office lunch)

• Access to state‑of‑the‑art models, generous usage of modern AI tools, and real‑world business problems

• Ownership of high‑impact projects across top enterprises

• A mission‑driven, fast‑moving culture that prizes curiosity, pragmatism, and excellence

Distyl has offices in San Francisco and New York. This role follows a hybrid collaboration model with 3+ days per week (Tuesday–Thursday) in‑office.