Commercial Counsel

Black Forest Labs Black Forest Labs · Multimodal · Freiburg, San Francisco · BFL team

Commercial Counsel for Black Forest Labs, a company specializing in generative AI models like Stable Diffusion. The role involves drafting and negotiating commercial agreements (API licensing, SaaS, model access), supporting US and EU go-to-market deals, and advising on AI-specific legal matters such as IP, training data rights, and regulatory compliance. Requires 7+ years of legal experience in technology transactions, with a preference for AI/ML or foundational model licensing experience.

What you'd actually do

  1. Draft and negotiate a wide range of commercial agreements, including API licensing, enterprise SaaS, model access and deployment, partnerships, vendor agreements, and NDAs
  2. Support US and EU commercial transactions, with a primary focus on US deals across a variety of industry verticals, and advise on matters of German corporate law
  3. Partner closely with the GTM, Marketing, FDE, Infrastructure, and Finance teams to provide practical, deal-enabling legal guidance
  4. Advise on AI-specific legal considerations, including IP ownership and licensing, training data rights, and evolving regulatory requirements for generative AI
  5. Develop and maintain scalable legal frameworks, contract templates, playbooks, and approval workflows

Skills

Required

  • 7+ years of legal experience in commercial transactions within the technology sector
  • Experience negotiating and closing complex technology agreements (software licensing, API/platform deals, data/content, partnerships)
  • Experience supporting US and EU commercial deals and navigating cross-border transactions
  • Excellent drafting and negotiation skills
  • Ability to identify material issues and communicate them clearly to non-lawyers
  • JD from an accredited law school and active bar membership in at least one US jurisdiction

Nice to have

  • In-house or external firm experience
  • Start-up or high-growth company experience
  • Experience with AI/ML, developer platforms, or foundational model licensing
  • Familiarity with generative AI products, licensing, and deployment
  • Qualification in a UK or EU jurisdiction
  • Familiarity with German corporate law, the EU AI Act, GDPR, or other international regulatory frameworks relevant to AI and data
  • Background advising on IP, copyright, or data licensing matters in the context of AI training or model development

What the JD emphasized

  • commercial transactions spanning our US and EU go-to-market deals
  • novel agreement structures for foundational generative AI models
  • negotiating complex licensing and API deals
  • AI-specific legal considerations, including IP ownership and licensing, training data rights, and evolving regulatory requirements for generative AI
  • 7+ years of legal experience, with time spent on commercial transactions in the technology sector
  • Demonstrated experience negotiating and closing complex technology agreements, including software licensing, API and platform deals, data and content agreements, and partnership contracts
  • Prior experience supporting both US and EU commercial deals, with comfort navigating cross-border transactions and a strong awareness of key jurisdictional differences
  • Experience with AI/ML, developer platforms, or foundational model licensing
  • Exposure to generative AI in prior roles is strongly preferred