Senior Commercial Counsel

Company Overview

Deepgram is the leading platform underpinning the emerging trillion-dollar Voice AI economy, providing real-time APIs for speech-to-text (STT), text-to-speech (TTS), and building production-grade voice agents at scale. More than 200,000 developers and 1,300+ organizations build voice offerings that are ‘Powered by Deepgram’, including Twilio, Cloudflare, Sierra, Decagon, Vapi, Daily, Cresta, Granola, and Jack in the Box. Deepgram’s voice-native foundation models are accessed through cloud APIs or as self-hosted and on-premises software, with unmatched accuracy, low latency, and cost efficiency. Backed by a recent Series C led by leading global investors and strategic partners, Deepgram has processed over 50,000 years of audio and transcribed more than 1 trillion words. There is no organization in the world that understands voice better than Deepgram.

Company Operating Rhythm

At Deepgram, we expect an AI-first mindset-AI use and comfort aren’t optional, they’re core to how we operate, innovate, and measure performance.

Every team member who works at Deepgram is expected to actively use and experiment with advanced AI tools, and even build your own into your everyday work. We measure how effectively AI is applied to deliver results, and consistent, creative use of the latest AI capabilities is key to success here. Candidates should be comfortable adopting new models and modes quickly, integrating AI into their workflows, and continuously pushing the boundaries of what these technologies can do.

Additionally, we move at the pace of AI. Change is rapid, and you can expect your day-to-day work to evolve just as quickly. This may not be the right role if you’re not excited to experiment, adapt, think on your feet, and learn constantly, or if you’re seeking something highly prescriptive with a traditional 9-to-5.

Opportunity:

We’re looking for an exceptional commercial lawyer to join our lean, high-impact legal team as our second commercial lawyer. This role is for someone who thrives at the intersection of law and business strategy - a deal-maker with sharp instincts, sound judgment, and genuine excitement about what Deepgram is building and how we are changing what is possible with speech.

Our legal team has a real seat at the table. You’ll close deals that matter, shape legal strategy at the frontier of AI, and craft commercial frameworks that are being built for the first time in this space. You’ll also help establish a legal function that scales with a company on a steep trajectory, reporting directly to our AssociateGeneral Counsel (Commercial). This role will be based in the UK/EU and will play a lead role in supporting our growing UK/EU and APAC business, including our expanding presence in the UK, EU, India, Australia, and Singapore.

This is a role for a builder.

What You’ll Do

• Structure, negotiate, and close enterprise sales and partnership agreements, along with supporting a range of other commercial deals (including vendor and services agreements, data licenses, and marketing arrangements)

• Serve as a trusted partner to our sales and business development teams, helping them move faster and smarter

• Bring customer empathy to every negotiation, understanding the businesses we serve well enough to craft agreements that close faster and hold up longer

• Design and implement scalable legal processes - standardizing deal terms, building templates, and streamlining the path to signed agreement

• Provide clear, practical guidance on privacy, intellectual property, data security, and AI-specific legal issues as they arise

• Navigate cross-border commercial and regulatory issues across the UK/EU and APAC and structure appropriate data transfer mechanisms (SCCs, adequacy decisions, BCRs) for our voice data processing

• Stay ahead of the evolving legal landscape for AI technologies and their impact on customers, translating developments into actionable guidance for our teams

• Roll up your sleeves on the full breadth of legal issues that come with being a fast-growing startup

You’ll Love This Role If You

• Value working with leadership that has tenure and a track record of success, along with A Players as cross-functional partners

• Get energized by building systems from scratch and establishing foundational practices

• Are very practical in addressing legal issues and allergic to unnecessary friction

• Have an abiding spirit of idealism about your chosen profession - you’re not just closing deals, you’re building something that matters

• Have a point of view on what good lawyering looks like and a healthy sense of humor about everything else

It’s Important To Us That You Have

• JD, LLM, or equivalent law degree/qualification from an accredited institution and 5-12 years of experience in legal practice (or more), in-house, at a firm, or both

• Demonstrated strength in commercial transactions internationally, particularly across UK/EU and APAC markets, across enterprise deals, partnerships, and other strategic relationships

• Fluency in the issues that matter most to us: IP, privacy, data security, and data licensing. A successful candidate will have depth of experience in at least some of these areas, and a willingness to learn the rest.

• Practical experience with data protection regimes relevant to our footprint and with structuring cross-border transfer mechanisms

• Recognize that law is about the grey areas, and are comfortable living in them, while giving clear and actionable advice.

• Exceptional writing - precise, plain, and compelling

It Would Be Great if You Had

• Experience helping a high-growth startup scale its sales motion - you know what good looks like and how to build legal infrastructure that accelerates rather than slows the business.

• Hands-on experience with commercial and legal issues in the AI space

• Prior experience supporting a U.S.-headquartered company’s commercial expansion into the UK/EU and/or APAC

Notice: We're aware of individuals impersonating Deepgram recruiters. All legitimate Deepgram recruiting communication comes from an @ deepgram.com email address. If you've received a message claiming to be Deepgram, please forward it to [email protected].