Perplexity

Senior Counsel, Regulatory

Perplexity

full-time

Posted on:

Location Type: Hybrid

Location: San Francisco • California • United States

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Salary

💰 $250,000 - $325,000 per year

Job Level

Senior

About the role

  • Serve as the company’s counsel for federal and state regulatory inquiries, investigations, and enforcement actions involving our products and services
  • Manage relationship-building with regulators, legislators, and other public policy stakeholders on behalf of the legal team
  • Advise on and coordinate legal responses to law enforcement and intelligence community requests (subpoenas, national security letters, MLATs, other compulsory process), assessing scope, risk, and escalation paths
  • Support Government Affairs/Public Policy by providing legal analysis of proposed legislation and regulations, and help craft positions, comment letters, and advocacy materials
  • Prepare and review written submissions, presentations, and briefing materials for regulators, policymakers, and oversight bodies—including responses to congressional and committee inquiries
  • Prepare executives and subject-matter experts for congressional hearings, briefings, depositions, and high-level government meetings, including mock Q&A and risk-spotting
  • Provide legal guidance on the public policy implications of product design, partnering closely with Product, Security, and Privacy teams
  • Lead the legal workstream in incident response and crisis management (security incidents, misuse of technology, significant policy or media issues), aligning legal strategy with communications and operational response
  • Advise on external communications related to investigations, regulatory matters, and public policy issues, in coordination with Communications and Public Policy
  • Track and synthesize developments in technology policy, national security, privacy, AI governance, and related areas; brief senior leadership on emerging risks and opportunities
  • Establish and maintain relationships with key external stakeholders (outside counsel, industry associations, civil society, and policy experts)
  • Design and deliver internal training on government inquiries, law enforcement interactions, and policy-sensitive risk areas
  • Build and manage the function and team as the business scales

Requirements

  • J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (DC or ability to obtain in-house admission strongly preferred)
  • At least 7+ years of post-JD experience, with a meaningful combination of: in-house at a technology or data-driven company; government experience (e.g., DOJ, agency enforcement, Hill oversight, intelligence or national security components); and/or a law firm practice focused on government investigations, regulatory enforcement, or public policy counseling
  • Hands-on experience managing or responding to government investigations, regulatory inquiries, or congressional oversight (including document collections, witness preparation, and written responses)
  • Track record of building positive, trust-based relationships with regulators and government stakeholders
  • Experience engaging with law enforcement and/or intelligence community entities on legal process, emergency requests, or national security matters
  • Excellent judgment under pressure, with the ability to translate complex legal and policy issues into clear, actionable guidance for non-lawyers
  • Strong writing, advocacy, and presentation skills—including the ability to draft persuasive submissions to regulators and policymakers
  • Demonstrated ability to collaborate across functions (Legal, Policy, Security, Product, Communications) and to build new processes in a fast-moving environment
  • Hands-on attitude, low ego, intellectual curiosity, and comfort with ambiguity in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.
Benefits
  • Full-time U.S. employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits program including equity, health, dental, vision, retirement, fitness, commuter and dependent care accounts, and more.
  • International full-time employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits program tailored to their region of residence.
Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills & Tools
J.D.active bar membershipgovernment investigationsregulatory inquiriescongressional oversightdocument collectionswitness preparationlegal analysisincident responsecrisis management
Soft Skills
relationship-buildingexcellent judgmentstrong writingadvocacy skillspresentation skillscollaborationhands-on attitudeintellectual curiositycomfort with ambiguitytrust-building
Certifications
active bar membership