General Counsel

The role

The General Counsel will serve as a strategic legal advisor to leadership. This person will lead legal strategy for collaborations, advise on governance and risk, and manage a small legal team.

What you will do

• Lead legal strategy for complex collaborations, partnerships, and institutional arrangements
• Advise leadership on governance, compliance, conflicts, regulatory, and risk matters
• Oversee legal agreements with academic, industry, nonprofit, and other strategic partners
• Identify legal pathways that enable new initiatives while protecting the Institute's interests
• Support business development and strategic growth initiatives
• Build and improve legal processes, policies, and frameworks
• Manage and develop a small legal team
• Supervise outside counsel as needed
• Provide clear, practical, and independent counsel to senior operational and scientific leadership

Required qualifications

• JD and Active membership in the State Bar of California, or eligibility to practice immediately as Registered In-House Counsel in California
• Experienced leader and member of an executive team
• Experienced people manager with track record of mentorship and skill development
• 15+ years of relevant legal experience including significant experience in corporate, transactional, technology transfer, engineering, life sciences, or related legal work
• Demonstrated ability to advise senior stakeholders on complex legal and strategic matters
• Experience leading or materially supporting high-stakes negotiations and transactions

Nice to have

• Experience structuring novel or complex legal arrangements in innovation-driven environments
• Experience managing a team of IP professionals or supervising external IP counsel
• Experience in biotech, life sciences, technology, or similarly fast-moving sectors

Benefits

• Annual discretionary bonus
• Compound Cash Grant Program (CCGP) providing multi-year cash grants in semi-annual installments

About the company

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology. It is based in Palo Alto and partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.