Associate Commercial Contracts Counsel

Company Intro

At Toloka AI we create data that powers leading GenAI models and innovations. We work with big tech, renowned AI startups, enterprises and non-profit research organizations worldwide. We use a combination of Experts + Crowd + Tech Platform to teach AI models to reason and evaluate their efficacy and safety. We have experts in more than 50 different domains—from doctors and lawyers to physicists and engineers—and boast one of the most diverse global crowds, representing over 100 countries and speaking 40+ languages. We are a well-funded startup with an enviable portfolio of clients.

Recently, we secured strategic investment led by Bezos Expeditions with participation from Mikhail Parakhin, CTO of Shopify and board advisor to leading GenAI companies, who now serves as our Chairman of the Board. Our remote-first team is globally distributed around the world: USA, UK, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Serbia, and more.

About this freelance role

We’re looking for an Associate Commercial Contracts Counsel (Freelance/Contractor) to support our international legal team in a fast-moving, product-driven environment. The role combines primary legal support for procurement and vendor contracting, and ownership of contract lifecycle management (CLM) for all agreements in our contract management system, ensuring contracts are correctly intake/routed, executed, stored, searchable, and maintained through renewal.

Key Responsibilities

• Own contract lifecycle management (CLM) across all agreements in the contract management system (e.g., customer agreements, vendor agreements, NDAs, partnerships, amendments), ensuring contracts are properly intake/routed, approved, executed, stored, searchable, and maintained through renewal.

• Drive contracts from intake to signature by aligning stakeholders, managing turnaround times, and ensuring correct approval routing and signature processes.

• Maintain strong contract repository hygiene and reporting readiness by ensuring CLM records are accurate and complete (e.g., counterparty, contract type, business owner, status, term, renewal/notice dates, key risk fields).

• Manage and track renewals and key dates (renewal and notice periods, auto-renewals, amendments), escalating upcoming actions to the appropriate legal and business owners.

• Draft, review, and negotiate procurement and vendor-side agreements, including:

• NDAs (mutual and unilateral)

• Vendor/supplier agreements

• SaaS / software procurement and licensing agreements

• Professional services agreements and SOWs (consulting/agencies/contractors)

• Amendments, renewals, and related pre-contract documentation

• Issue-spot and escalate privacy, data protection, security, and IP risks in vendor and services engagements, including where contracts involve personal data, confidential information, model training data, data transfers, subprocessors, or access to Toloka systems; coordinate DPAs/security terms with relevant stakeholders.

• Provide clear, practical advice on risk allocation and contract positions, including liability caps, indemnities, warranties, IP ownership/licensing, confidentiality, data security/privacy, audit rights, and termination.

• Partner closely with procurement, product, and finance to move vendor engagements forward efficiently, supporting commercial alignment, timelines, and internal approvals.

• Maintain and continuously improve templates, standard clauses, and negotiation playbooks; create and update templates and workflows within the CLM and maintain clause fallback language.

• Track legal developments relevant to vendor contracting and operational risk (privacy, security, AI/data-related contracting), and update templates/playbooks accordingly.

Key Qualifications

• English: native-level or near-native professional fluency.

• Law degree from a recognized university (LL.B., LL.M., JD, or equivalent).

• Qualified to practice in the US, EU, or UK (or equivalent qualification), with 2+ years’ PQE (or equivalent hands-on commercial contracting experience), ideally in technology transactions and/or an in-house legal team.

• Demonstrated experience drafting and negotiating commercial technology contracts, particularly procurement/vendor-side agreements (SaaS procurement, services/SOWs, licensing, NDAs).

• Strong ability to proactively identify and address privacy, security, and IP issues arising from vendor relationships and data flows (including DPAs, confidentiality, data-use restrictions, subprocessors, cross-border transfers, and security controls).

• Experience owning or strongly contributing to contract operations/CLM: intake and workflow management, template administration, metadata hygiene, renewal/notice tracking, and repository maintenance.

• Strong foundation in EU/US/UK contracting principles and ability to apply them pragmatically in a business setting.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain legal concepts in clear, business-friendly terms.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and comfortable managing multiple priorities under tight timelines.

• Bonus: experience with privacy/security contracting (e.g., GDPR concepts, DPAs, security addenda) and IP clauses in software and services agreements.

Remote-first, working with a globally distributed team across multiple time zones.

[Important Notice] Scam Alert Regarding Fake Job Postings

It has come to our attention that an individual or group is fraudulently impersonating Toloka to post fake jobs and solicit personal information from applicants. Please be aware:

• Official Communication: Our recruiting team will only contact you from an official "toloka.ai" email address. We will NEVER use Gmail, Yahoo, Tolokainc, toloka.inc, or other personal or seemingly business email accounts.

• Our Process: We will never ask for your bank account details, credit card number, or any fees as part of the application or interview process.

• Official Listings: All legitimate job openings are posted on our official careers page: https://toloka.ai/careers#job-list

What to do: If you see a suspicious job posting or have been contacted by someone you suspect is a scammer, please do not provide any personal information. Instead, report the incident to us directly at [email protected] and report the profile/post to LinkedIn. We are taking this matter very seriously and are working with the appropriate parties to resolve it.

Thank you for your vigilance!