We are building AI to simulate the world through merging art and science.
We believe that world models are at the frontier of progress in artificial intelligence. Language models alone won’t solve the world’s hardest problems – robotics, disease, scientific discovery. Real progress requires models that experience the world and learn from their mistakes, the same way that humans do. And this kind of trial and error can be massively accelerated when done in simulation, rather than in the real world.
World models offer the most clear path to general-purpose simulation, changing how stories are told, how scientific progress is made and how the next frontiers of humanity are reached.
Our team consists of creative, open minded, caring and ambitious people who are determined to change the world. We aspire to continuously build impossible things and our ability to do so relies on building an incredible team. If you are driven to do the same, we'd love to hear from you.
About the role*Preference for NYC/Eastern Time Zone, but open to hiring in our SF and Seattle offices as well as remote across the US
Join the frontier of shaping generative AI video and its legal landscape as an early lawyer at Runway. We are looking to hire a Commercial Counsel who has a strong background in B2B SaaS customer negotiations and strategic IP-heavy partnerships. You are a self-starter who thrives at getting things done in fast-paced, unstructured environments. You have a passion for helping companies build and bringing scalable initiatives across our commercial and other legal workstreams.
While the role is in large part focused on the commercial legal function, you might also bring to the table generalist experience across domains such as data privacy, vendor negotiations, and compliance. You will serve as a strategic thought partner to cross-functional teams from sales to partnerships to marketing and to the Runway Executive Team. Comfort working within a highly technical, rapidly evolving area of the law is a must.
What you’ll doLead negotiations with Runway’s customers and strategic partners. These include B2B SaaS customer contracts for our generative AI SaaS platform and APIs, DPAs, partnership agreements, and vendor agreements.
Implement commercial processes, tools, and infrastructure to help us scale, including improving templates, playbooks, and our legal tech stack
Empower the sales team with tools and knowledge to close deals quickly
Dive into the technical aspects of our generative AI products to learn them inside and out, to inform your advice to the business
Closely follow technical, legal, and policy developments in the generative AI space
Manage outside counsel as appropriate
A J.D. and admission in good standing with at least one state bar
6+ years of experience negotiating complex commercial contracts, including significant experience on a commercial legal team at a fast-paced late stage private or mid-sized public B2B SaaS company
In addition to B2B SaaS customer contract negotiations, experience with strategic IP-heavy partnerships and preferably B2C legal issues as well
Strong business acumen
The capacity to think big; a bias for action; and a willingness to take ownership
Growth mindset that prioritizes continuous operational improvement and service excellence
Experience with scaling business processes globally and operating in environments that have achieved significant scale
Excitement about generative AI and motivation to continuously learn more about the legal landscape governing a new and exciting industry
Nice to have: experience managing privacy programs relating to marketing, users, and enterprise customer/vendor agreements
Runway strives to recruit and retain exceptional talent from diverse backgrounds while ensuring pay equity for our team. Our salary ranges are based on competitive market rates for our size, stage and industry, and salary is just one part of the overall compensation package we provide.
There are many factors that go into salary determinations, including relevant experience, skill level and qualifications assessed during the interview process, and maintaining internal equity with peers on the team. The range shared below is a general expectation for the function as posted, but we are also open to considering candidates who may be more or less experienced than outlined in the job description. In this case, we will communicate any updates in the expected salary range.
Lastly, the provided range is the expected salary for candidates in the U.S. Outside of those regions, there may be a change in the range, which again, will be communicated to candidates.
Working at RunwayGreat things come from great teams. We’d love to hear from you.
We’re committed to creating a space where our employees can bring their full selves to work and have equal opportunity to succeed. So regardless of race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion, origin, ability, age, veteran status, if joining this mission speaks to you, we encourage you to apply.
More about Runway
Universal World Simulator
GWM-1
Gen-4.5
General World Models
Robotics SDK
Conversational Real-time Agents
Runway Studios
We're excited to be recognized as a best place to work:
Crain's | InHerSight | BuiltIn NYC | INC
Skills Required
- J.D. and admission in good standing with at least one state bar
- 6+ years of experience negotiating complex commercial contracts
- experience on a commercial legal team at a fast-paced B2B SaaS company
- experience with strategic IP-heavy partnerships
- strong business acumen
Runway Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Runway and has not been reviewed or approved by Runway.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare is described as fully employer‑paid for U.S. employees and dependents, with complimentary mental health benefits and a One Medical membership. These provisions indicate broad, high‑value coverage that reduces out‑of‑pocket burden.
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Parental & Family Support — Policies include fully paid parental leave for all parents, paired with a structured gradual return‑to‑work plan. This signals meaningful support during family transitions.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑off offerings include unlimited PTO with a recommended minimum and paid sabbaticals at 3, 5, and 7 years. This mix emphasizes both ongoing rest and longer‑term rejuvenation.
Runway Insights
What We Do
We are building AI to simulate the world through merging art and science. We believe that world models are at the frontier of progress in artificial intelligence. Language models alone won't solve the world’s hardest problems – robotics, disease, scientific discovery. Real progress requires models that experience the world and learn from their mistakes, the same way that humans do. And this kind of trial and error can be massively accelerated when done in simulation, rather than in the real world. World models offer the most clear path to general-purpose simulation.
Why Work With Us
Our team consists of creative, open minded, caring and ambitious people who are determined to change the world. We aspire to continuously build impossible things and our ability to do so relies on building an incredible team. If you are driven to do the same, we'd love to hear from you.
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