Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This role stands out in the SaaS ecosystem because executive compensation, equity programs, and benefits governance become materially complex as software companies scale globally and operate under increasing scrutiny from boards, investors, and regulators. OpenAI’s remit spans committee support, disclosure, and transaction readiness, positioning the legal function as an operating partner in how a modern AI and software organization structures incentives and manages risk.
For a SaaS-focused legal career, the work builds durable fluency in the mechanics that sit behind growth: equity plan design and administration, cross functional controls with Finance and Accounting, and the governance rhythms that shape decision making at the highest levels. Experience advising on compensation committee matters and supporting financings or M&A translates well across later stage SaaS companies where equity, retention, and reporting expectations are tightly linked.
The role is best suited to a senior lawyer who prefers ambiguous, high sensitivity subject matter and can produce board ready guidance without over lawyering. It will appeal to professionals who enjoy partnering across People, Tax, and Investor Relations, and who want to be close to strategic decisions while staying anchored in technical rigor and discretion.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
About the Team
OpenAI's Legal team plays a crucial role in furthering OpenAI's mission by tackling innovative, fundamental legal issues in AI. If you're passionate about doing significant and unique work as a technology lawyer, this team is for you. The team comprises professionals from diverse fields, including technology, AI, privacy, IP, corporate, employment, tax, regulatory, and litigation.
About the Role
As Associate General Counsel, Executive Compensation & Benefits, you will lead legal support for OpenAI’s executive compensation, employee benefits and equity compensation programs. You will partner closely with People, Finance, Equity, Accounting, Tax, Investor Relations and other teams on compensation committee and board matters, global benefits plan design, governance and administration, executive and employee compensation arrangements, disclosure and transaction support, and related processes and controls. This role will report to our Deputy General Counsel, Corporate & Employment.
This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week.
In this role, you will:
Advise on a broad range of executive compensation and employee benefits matters, including senior executive, employee, severance, incentive, equity, retention and global benefits arrangements, as well as related plan administration and governance.
Serve as the primary legal advisor for all Compensation Committee matters.
Counsel on equity compensation and employee ownership programs, including equity plan administration, grants, incentive and related programs, securities compliance, and related processes.
Partner closely with cross-functional teams across the company, including People, Finance, Equity, Accounting, Tax, Corporate Development, Investor Relations and other teams, on compensation, benefits, equity compensation, global benefits administration, shareholder engagement and governance matters.
Support equity, compensation and benefits aspects of capital markets, financing, M&A, and other strategic transactions.
Develop and scale legal processes and frameworks for executive compensation, employee benefits, global benefits administration, equity compensation and compensation governance.
You might thrive in this role if you:
Have 12+ years of combined legal experience at fast-paced technology companies and technology-focused law firms.
Have significant experience advising on executive compensation, equity compensation, employee benefits, global benefits administration, compensation governance and related matters.
Have working knowledge of securities, tax, benefits, employment and corporate governance issues that arise in compensation, equity, and benefits programs.
Familiarity with executive compensation practices, including benchmarking, disclosure considerations, and governance standards.
Have a strong sense of ownership, are inquisitive and enthusiastic about technology, enjoy being continually challenged, and can demonstrate sound judgment in ambiguous situations.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with comfort producing board-level and executive-ready materials.
High integrity, sound judgment, and discretion when handling sensitive executive information.
Have a JD and license or qualification to practice in CA.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
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At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.
