About this opportunity
Niantic Spatial lists this Head of Legal opportunity in san francisco, California. Review the employer’s description below for duties, qualifications and application requirements.
Job description
About Niantic Spatial
At Niantic Spatial, we're building the future of physical AI. Powered by a proprietary database of over 30 billion posed images, our groundbreaking mapping technology unlocks a new dimension of interaction and spatial intelligence that helps both humans and machines better understand, represent, navigate, and engage with the real environment.
Our reconstruction technology captures environments with geometric accuracy and extreme detail from any standard camera, and our Visual Positioning System delivers precise positioning almost anywhere in the world. We serve customers across robotics, the public sector, and energy and industrial markets - building for the 80% of economic activity that takes place beyond our screens.
About the Role
As Head of Legal, you will serve as Niantic Spatial's primary legal advisor and build the legal function from the ground up. You will partner closely with Sales, Product, Engineering, Finance, People, Security, and the executive team to negotiate strategic commercial agreements, advise on legal and regulatory matters, and establish practical processes that enable the business to move quickly. We are looking for a strong business partner who helps accelerate the company while managing risk.
This is a foundational role. You will set the legal operating model, own our most complex commercial relationships, and be a trusted voice at the leadership table — balancing legal rigor with the practical judgment a fast-moving company requires. Reporting to our CEO or President and COO, you will shape both the legal strategy and the organization that executes it as Niantic Spatial scales.
What You'll Do
Serve as the Company's Legal Partner
Advise executive leadership on legal, strategic, and business matters.
Provide practical, risk-balanced guidance that enables informed business decisions.
Partner across every function to embed legal thinking into day-to-day operations.
Lead Commercial Contracting
Own the negotiation and execution of enterprise customer, partner, supplier, reseller, technology, licensing, and data agreements.
Partner with GTM to accelerate contract execution while protecting the company's interests.
Develop standard agreements, negotiation playbooks, fallback language, and contracting best practices that improve efficiency and consistency.
Support strategic partnerships and complex commercial transactions.
Guide Corporate & Strategic Matters
Manage corporate governance, Board support, and corporate records.
Act as legal lead on corporate matters, including financing transactions.
Support acquisitions, investments, strategic partnerships, and other corporate initiatives as the company grows.
Drive Compliance & Risk Management
Advise on privacy, AI governance, intellectual property, export controls, data licensing, and emerging regulatory requirements.
Partner with Security, Engineering, and Product to address customer compliance obligations and public sector requirements.
Develop practical legal policies, approval frameworks, and governance processes that scale with the business.
Build the Legal Function
Establish the legal operating model, including processes, systems, templates, and outside counsel management.
Create scalable legal operations that improve speed, consistency, and visibility.
Manage wide-ranging patent and trademark portfolios to protect company intellectual property.
Help define the long-term legal strategy and organization as Niantic Spatial continues to grow.
Manage Legal Disputes
Respond to formal and alleged disputes initiated by third parties using cost-effective counsel.
Drive litigation strategy.
Provide risk assessments and status updates to the C-suite.
What You'll Bring
J.D. from an accredited law school and active membership in the California Bar, or the ability to register as in-house counsel in California.
8+ years of combined law firm and in-house legal experience, with meaningful exposure to high-growth technology companies.
Significant experience negotiating complex enterprise technology and commercial agreements — including software licensing, SaaS, AI, data, and technology transactions.
Demonstrated ability to independently manage a broad range of legal matters with sound business judgment and without requiring extensive outside counsel support for routine matters.
Strong knowledge of intellectual property, privacy, and regulatory frameworks relevant to AI and technology businesses.
Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence stakeholders across all levels of the organization — including executive leadership and the Board.
A practical, collaborative approach that balances legal risk with business objectives and earns trust as a partner, not a gatekeeper.
Nice to Have
Experience supporting AI, machine learning, robotics, geospatial, cloud infrastructure, or developer platform companies.
Experience with government contracting, public sector procurement, or defense customers.
Familiarity with global privacy laws, AI governance frameworks, and international commercial transactions.
Experience building or leading a legal function within a startup or scaling technology company.
In Your First Year
Within your first year, you will have:
Become a trusted legal advisor to the executive leadership team and a credible voice at the leadership table.
Meaningfully reduced commercial contract cycle times through improved processes, templates, and negotiation playbooks.
Established scalable legal operations, including systems, policies, and governance frameworks, that enable business growth while managing risk.
Built strong, trusted partnerships across Sales, Product, Finance, Security, People, and Engineering.
Developed an effective outside counsel strategy that delivers high-quality legal support while managing spend.
Created a legal function that is viewed as a business enabler - known for accelerating decisions, not slowing them down.
Compensation & Benefits
The expected salary range for this role is $270,000 –$340,000 per year. Compensation also includes an annual bonus, equity, and a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k), and more.
Location & Work Model
This role is based in our San Francisco, CA office with a minimum of 4 days per week in office.
Equal Opportunity
Niantic Spatial is an equal opportunity employer. Individuals seeking employment at Niantic Spatial are considered without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, creed, age, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected category under applicable laws. Niantic Spatial will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with applicable laws. Please contact your recruiter if you want to request an accommodation for the job application or interview process.
Candidate Privacy
I understand that by submitting my job application, the information I provide as part of that application will be used in accordance with Niantic Spatial's Privacy Notice for Job Applicants and Candidates
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Worksite address
san francisco, CA, 94199, US
Who can apply
Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.