General Counsel

Job Description

About Maneva 

Maneva is an AI services company founded by a former Google DeepMind researcher, focused on transforming manufacturing operations through advanced AI. We enable autonomous factory operation and optimization by generating AI-driven actions and insights using off-the-shelf hardware or existing vision systems. 

Our solutions address real-world manufacturing challenges across product and equipment inspection, production efficiency, safety, and operational performance—delivering measurable impact without requiring heavy infrastructure changes. 

Role Overview 

Maneva is seeking a General Counsel to serve as the company's in-house legal at a critical stage of growth. This role sits at the intersection of commercial strategy, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance, working closely with the company’s leadership team. 

As General Counsel, you will build and manage Maneva's commercial legal strategy and own the entirety of the commercial process—from contract development and negotiation through execution and renewal. You will also oversee compliance and legal matters across corporate governance, regulatory, employment, and general corporate functions, identifying and escalating issues while outsourcing specialist work where appropriate. You will provide business-minded legal guidance that enables the company to scale responsibly. 

This is a high-impact role ideal for a commercial lawyer first and foremost—someone with substantive law firm experience or in-house work in B2B SaaS or comparable high-growth technology environments, who thrives at the intersection of legal discipline and business pragmatism. 

This role is fully remote. 

Key Responsibilities 

Commercial & Contracts  

• Develop and own Maneva's commercial legal strategy, contracting standards, and risk framework. 

• Negotiate and execute all material customer contracts, partnership agreements, vendor agreements, and SaaS terms. 

• Develop and maintain contract templates, SOWs, DPAs, security agreements, and standard terms that balance commercial flexibility with legal risk mitigation. 

• Build and maintain internal knowledge of key commercial deals, flagged risk areas, and deal progression; advise leadership on deal structure and negotiation strategy. 

• Work closely with sales, product, and operations teams to ensure contracts support business objectives while managing legal exposure. 

Legal Operations and AI Automation 

• Develop and implement AI-powered automations across legal workflows 

• Use AI tools to increase efficiency in contract drafting, legal analysis, due diligence, and compliance monitoring 

• Build and maintain AI-assisted legal templates, processes, and knowledge bases that scale legal work without proportional headcount 

Other Legal Matters (Oversight & Execution) 

In addition to commercial work, you will oversee and execute legal matters across the following areas, identifying issues, managing external counsel relationships, and outsourcing specialist work (e.g., export control counsel, tax, IP prosecution) as appropriate: 

• Regulatory & Compliance: Develop compliance strategies across export control, data privacy, industry-specific regulations; assess obligations as the company expands; stay current on evolving regulations and manage compliance for international engagements. 

• Employment Law & People Operations: Advise on employment matters; develop and maintain employment policies and HR documentation. 

• Corporate Governance: Cap table management, stockholder records, board meeting preparation, and investor diligence support. 

• General Corporate & IP: IP assignment and protection, external counsel relationships, insurance, corporate records, business entity structure, subsidiary considerations, and international expansion. 

• Strategic Legal Counsel: Serve as trusted advisor to the CEO and board on strategic business matters with legal implications. 

Why Join Maneva 

• Lead commercial and legal strategy at a technically exceptional, well-funded AI company transforming a massive industry. 

• Work directly with senior leadership and the board on decisions that shape company trajectory. 

• Gain deep exposure to venture capital, private equity, and commercial scaling challenges in a high-growth AI company. 

• Build and grow Maneva's legal function from the ground up, with autonomy and impact. 

• Join a mission-driven team at the forefront of AI-driven manufacturing. 

Requirements

• Experience: 5–8 years of experience as a lawyer at a law firm and/or in-house at a B2B SaaS or comparable high-growth technology company. 

• Commercial Expertise: Substantial experience negotiating and drafting commercial contracts; strong negotiation skills and business judgment; ability to assess legal risk in commercial context. 

• Regulatory & Operations Knowledge: Ability to navigate multiple areas of law (employment, corporate governance, export control, data privacy, regulatory compliance). Not expected to be an expert in every area, but comfortable building expertise and knowing when to engage specialists. 

• Business Intuition: Strong business acumen and ability to advise commercially, not just legally. Understands venture funding dynamics, cap tables, and how legal decisions impact fundraising and operations. 

• Communication & Relationship Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication. Able to explain legal issues clearly to non-lawyers and advise across technical, commercial, and leadership perspectives. 

• Startup Mindset: Thrives in fast-paced environments with ambiguous problems. Takes ownership of issues end-to-end and builds out legal infrastructure from the ground up. 

• Tools & Fluency: Comfortable with contracts, spreadsheets, and common SaaS legal/financial tools. Familiarity with equity management software (Carta, 409A valuations) is a plus. 

• Language: Bilingual French/English is strongly preferred (reflects company and customer base). 

Benefits

Compensation & Logistics 

• Fully remote, North America-based  

• Competitive salary and package commensurate with experience 

• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, and other benefits