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The Role
Leads Retool’s legal function, including commercial and vendor contracting, privacy and data protection, AI-related legal matters, corporate governance, employment, intellectual property, financing, and compliance. The role manages the legal team, outside counsel, legal budget, contracting infrastructure, policies, playbooks, and risk reporting while advising executives and partnering with Sales, Finance, Product, Trust, Engineering, and People.
Summary Generated by Built In
ABOUT RETOOL
Nearly every company in the world runs on custom software for critical operations like tracking performance metrics, handling support workflows, building admin dashboards, and countless processes you might never have thought of. But most companies don't have the resources to properly invest in these tools, leading to a lot of old, clunky internal software, or worse, teams still stuck in manual and spreadsheet workflows.
AI has changed who gets to build software. The definition of "developer" now includes analysts, operators, and domain experts creating solutions directly—and the tools they reach for are multiplying by the week. That's both an opportunity and a challenge: as more people build with more AI tools, the risk of shipping ungoverned software into production grows just as fast.
At Retool, we're building the platform that makes all of it safe to ship. Build with any AI tool you want, then deploy into one place that connects to your real business data, enforces enterprise policies automatically, and lets teams create once and reuse everywhere with shared, trusted components. The cost of building software has collapsed. The cost of governing it hasn't—and that's the problem we solve.
Developers and domain experts have already automated over 100 million hours of work on our platform, freeing them to focus on creative problem-solving and strategic work that drives real business value. The people closest to the problem can now build the software to solve it, safely, and within enterprise guardrails.
Let's build the future together.
WHY WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOU:We’re hiring a Head of Legal to be Retool’s senior legal leader and the architect of a function built to scale. You’ll own the full scope of legal: commercial and vendor contracting, privacy and compliance, and the corporate matters that underpin a fast-growing company, including governance, employment, IP, and financing. This is a role for a builder who still enjoys handling the details. You’ll negotiate the deals that matter most, write the first version of the playbooks and policies, and make the judgment calls in an evolving AI-centric space. You’ll also advise executives with GC-level credibility, shape how Retool weighs risk against opportunity, and grow a team that carries the work forward as the company scales.
This role reports to the CFO and partners closely with Sales, Finance, Trust, Product, and People. You’ll lead our existing legal team, set its priorities, and be the first stop for legal questions across the company, escalating to outside counsel where it makes sense. If you want to run a legal function that acts as a business enabler rather than a checkpoint, and you’re energized by how AI is changing both our product and the practice of law, this role is for you.
- Lead and develop the legal team, setting priorities, coaching attorneys and legal operations staff, and deciding when to hire, automate, or use outside counsel
- Own the commercial contracting program, serving as the escalation point for complex or non-standard MSAs, DPAs, order forms, and partnership agreements, and partnering with Sales leadership on strategic and enterprise deals
- Oversee the vendor contract program, setting the risk positions and approval thresholds that let business owners move quickly
- Lead our privacy and data protection legal work (GDPR, CCPA, and emerging state and international regimes) as it arises in contracts, product features, and customer security reviews
- Advise on the legal and regulatory landscape for AI, including customer-facing AI terms, responsible use, IP and data rights, and evolving regulation, working with Product, Engineering, and Trust
- Build and maintain our legal infrastructure: contract intake and CLM workflows, templates, negotiation playbooks, policies, and process documentation, using AI wherever it improves speed and consistency
- Partner with Finance, Accounting, Trust, People, and other teams to give practical, business-oriented guidance on day-to-day operational matters, including employment, IP, and compliance questions
- Manage outside counsel relationships and the legal budget, and support corporate matters such as governance, equity administration, and financing or corporate development projects with the CEO and Finance
- Report on legal risk, workload, and team performance to company leadership, and escalate material issues early
THE SKILLSET YOU'LL BRING:
- J.D. and active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
- 10+ years of experience at a law firm and/or in-house, with deep exposure to B2B SaaS commercial contracting across both customer and vendor relationships
- Prior experience leading or managing attorneys or a legal function, or a clear track record of readiness to do so (for example, as a senior counsel or director of legal)
- Strong working knowledge of privacy and data protection frameworks, including GDPR and CCPA, and how they apply to enterprise SaaS and AI products
- Familiarity with legal issues specific to AI, such as model and data licensing, IP ownership, and emerging regulation
- Sound judgment on risk: you can tell what needs escalating from what you can resolve, and you can explain tradeoffs to executives in plain language
- Comfort with high-volume, fast-moving commercial work, and the ability to prioritize and execute independently
- Excellent written and verbal communication, including translating legal concepts for non-lawyer audiences
- Genuine curiosity about AI tools and legal tech, and a willingness to use them to work more efficiently
- Experience with contract management systems such as Ironclad or similar is a plus
- Corporate governance, financing, or employment law experience is a plus
- Impeccable ethical standards
For candidates based in the United States, the pay range(s) for this role is listed below and represents base salary range for non-commissionable roles or on-target earnings (OTE) for commissionable roles. This salary range may be inclusive of several career levels at Retool and will be narrowed during the interview process based on a number of factors such as (but not limited to), scope and responsibilities, the candidate’s experience and qualifications, and location.
Additional compensation in the form(s) of equity and/or commission are dependent on the position offered. Retool provides a comprehensive benefit plan, including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k). Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.
The base pay range for this role is $281,800 – $331,500 per year.
Retool offers generous benefits to all employees and hybrid work location. For more information, please visit the benefits and perks section of our careers page!
Retool is currently set up to employ all roles in the US and specific roles in the UK. To find roles that can be employed in the UK, please refer to our careers page and review the indicated locations.
Skills Required
- J.D. degree
- Active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
- 10+ years of experience at a law firm and/or in-house
- Deep experience with B2B SaaS commercial contracting across customer and vendor relationships
- Experience leading or managing attorneys or a legal function, or demonstrated readiness to do so
- Strong knowledge of privacy and data protection frameworks, including GDPR and CCPA, applied to enterprise SaaS and AI products
- Familiarity with AI legal issues, including model and data licensing, intellectual property ownership, and emerging regulation
- Sound risk judgment and ability to communicate tradeoffs to executives
- Ability to manage high-volume, fast-moving commercial work and prioritize independently
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Curiosity about AI tools and legal technology, with willingness to use them efficiently
- Experience with contract management systems such as Ironclad or similar
- Corporate governance, financing, or employment law experience
- Impeccable ethical standards
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The Company
What We Do
Retool is a development platform for building business software. Users can visually design apps that interface with any database or API, and switch to code to customize how their apps look and work. With Retool, developers ship more apps and move their business forward—all in less time. Thousands of teams at companies like Amazon, DoorDash, Peloton, and Brex collaborate around custom-built Retool apps to solve internal workflows. We're just getting started and growing quickly—join us!
Why Work With Us
Retools are solution drivers—whether fixing a button misalignment or enabling customers to build with the newest AI technologies, we wear many hats and act like owners. Our small teams work on big problems, pushing hard and moving quickly to create outsized impact. We hold each other accountable and celebrate together when we get it right. Join us!
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