Legal Operations Associate

Job Description

Legal Operations Associate | Abaka AI

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Abaka AI, located in the United States, within a global organization headquartered in Silicon Valley. Abaka AI is built to be the world’s most trusted data partner for AI companies, providing diverse off-the-shelf datasets, data collection, and annotation services to power data pipelines for over 1,000 industry leaders. This role is central to strengthening the company’s legal infrastructure as it scales globally, establishing crucial processes that support rapid growth. The Legal Operations Associate will be a key operational partner, building scalable legal frameworks.

The TL;DR
• Role: Early Career
• Type: Full-time
• Location: United States
• Pay: $85000–$100000 yearly
• Mission: Own contract lifecycle management, support compliance initiatives, and serve as a key operational partner between leadership and external legal counsel.

What You’ll Actually Do
• Contract Management: Oversee the full contract lifecycle, including drafting, organizing, tracking, and maintaining various agreements like NDAs, MSAs, DPAs, SOWs, and vendor agreements.
• Risk Assessment: Review contracts to identify and summarize key terms and potential risk areas such as liability caps, indemnification, termination clauses, payment terms, and data usage provisions.
• Legal Coordination: Serve as a liaison with external legal counsel, coordinating on contract redlines, revisions, and compliance matters.
• Documentation & Compliance: Maintain accurate corporate records, board documentation, and regulatory filings, while also supporting privacy and data protection compliance initiatives across global operations.
• Process Improvement & Financial Support: Develop and enhance internal contract management systems and documentation workflows, and assist with invoice review, payment tracking, and budget tracking related to legal expenses.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Entry-Level, with a strong understanding of contract structure and common legal risk areas.
• Experience: 0–3 years in legal operations, paralegal roles, contract management, compliance, or a related field; demonstrated ability to take ownership, manage multiple agreements, and operate independently.
• Skills: Excellent attention to detail and organizational skills; strong written communication skills to clearly summarize legal terms and risks; comfort working cross-functionally with leadership, operations, and external counsel.
• Bonus: Experience in AI, data, technology, or high-growth startups; Paralegal certification, CIPP (US/EU), or JD.