Legal Counsel

🌍 We’re making security suck less for developers.

Security tools haven’t kept up with how software is built today. They interrupt teams, slow releases, and turn security into a bottleneck instead of a capability. We built Aikido to change that. Aikido builds developer-first security products that reduce real risk without getting in the way of shipping software. We focus on what actually matters and automate the rest.

We’re taking on legacy security tools teams have been stuck with, and we’re winning. If you want to help us take market share and build products developers actually enjoy using, you’re in the right place.

Founded in 2022 by third-time founders, Aikido has $85M in the bank and a long runway ahead. We’re building toward self-securing software. Join an all-star team. Take real ownership. Push boundaries. Build things that matter.

We’re looking for a Legal Counsel who can take ownership of our commercial legal workflows in the US, someone who thrives in high-growth environments and wants to build structure without adding friction.

This is not a paralegal role. This is not a full attorney role. This is a hands-on, pragmatic commercial operator who can manage contracts end-to-end and keep the business moving.

Responsibilities:

• Own the lifecycle of customer and partner agreements

• Review, redline, and negotiate contracts with enterprise and mid-market customers

• Partner closely with Sales to unblock deals quickly and responsibly

• Maintain and improve our contract templates and playbooks

• Ensure alignment with security, privacy, and compliance standards

• Manage contract tracking, approvals, and documentation processes

• You are the person making sure deals don’t stall in legal.

• Support HR/employment documentation and policy updates (US focus)

• Help coordinate external counsel when required

• Assist with litigation or dispute-related documentation

• Support internal compliance initiatives

• Handle miscellaneous US legal matters as they arise

• Based in Chicago, IL (on-site)

• J.D. from an accredited law school required

• 3–5 years of hands-on commercial contracting experience, including drafting and negotiating NDAs and deal structures in the $50K–$100K range

• Demonstrated experience with SaaS agreements and software licensing terms

• Knowledge of employment and HR-related legal matters

• Strong experience reviewing and negotiating SaaS agreements

• Comfortable working directly with Sales teams and external stakeholders

• Ability to balance risk with pragmatism (you know when to push and when to move)

• Experience in a high-growth SaaS or tech company preferred

• Familiarity with security, privacy, or data processing agreements is a plus

• Highly organized and process-oriented, but not bureaucratic

What you can expect

• Short decision lines. Big ownership. Shape the projects that matter and ship fast.

• Grow as fast as we do. Take on more, own more, and carve out your own path.

• Top-tier tech pay and equity.

• High trust, strong values, zero corporate BS.

• Flexibility in working hours.

• A company that sticks to its values in an open and informal atmosphere.

We hire for talent, drive, and potential. Everything else is noise.