About the role
About Patch
Patch is the AI-native services company that helps enterprises secure the resources they need to grow sustainably. We combine advisory expertise, proprietary market data and purpose-built software to help companies source, vet and manage what they buy.
We started in environmental commodities. Today we move hundreds of millions of dollars a year for buyers ranging from fast-growing tech companies to the Fortune 500, across carbon removal, nature-based solutions, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable energy certificates and more. Now we're bringing the same model to other resources companies need to grow, starting with compute and critical minerals. These markets look a lot like carbon did a few years ago: supply is fragmented, vetting it is hard and there's no trusted facilitator.
That means our contracts cover a lot of ground, from SaaS agreements to multi-year offtake deals that put one buyer together with a portfolio of suppliers. Most of the markets we work in are young and have few established norms. As we expand, you'll write the first versions of the contracts these new markets run on.
The role
You'll own Patch's commercial legal function and decide how it should work as we grow. That includes how requests come in, how contracts get drafted and reviewed, which tools we use, and what Sales and Supply can handle on their own.
We want this function to be AI-native. In practice, that means using agents and automation for first-pass review, clause comparison, term mirroring and contract data extraction, so your time goes to the negotiations and judgment calls that need a lawyer. You'll have the authority and budget to build that system the way you think it should work.
You'll also be in the deals from day one, negotiating with enterprise procurement teams and supplier counsel while you build the system around them.
What you'll do
Build the legal function
- Design our legal workflows end to end: intake, triage, drafting, review, approvals and contract management
- Build and maintain AI agents and automations that handle routine review and enforce our playbooks
- Create templates, playbooks and guided workflows so the commercial team can close standard deals without waiting on Legal
- Choose the tools, decide what to build versus buy, and track how the function performs on speed, risk and cost
Lead commercial contracting
- Negotiate enterprise, supplier and partner agreements, including multi-year offtakes, framework purchase agreements, SaaS and advisory contracts
- Manage our back-to-back contract model so that what we commit to buyers (indemnities, remedies, replacement credits) is matched in our supplier agreements
- Structure payment and risk terms such as milestones, escrows, clawbacks and default protections
- Keep counterparties on Patch paper where possible, and know which terms to hold firm on when they push back
Partner on risk
- Work closely with the VP of Finance as Patch's main point of contact on contractual risk
- Set risk thresholds across our deal portfolio and track exposure over time
- Work with Sales, Supply, Finance and leadership to get deals signed on terms that protect Patch
- Bring in outside counsel when it makes sense and keep that work focused and cost-effective
What we're looking for
- 6-10+ years of commercial contracting experience, ideally a mix of law firm and in-house work at a high-growth company
- Experience negotiating complex enterprise agreements, especially ones involving different revenue streams or liability models
- Hands-on experience using AI tools in your legal work, plus clear opinions on where they help and where they don't
- The ability to form a sound position where there's no precedent to rely on
- A knack for explaining legal risk to executives, technical teams and counterparties in plain language
Nice to haves: background in commodities, energy, environmental markets or fintech; experience building legal ops or contract management from scratch; comfort with no-code tools or scripting.
How we work
We have three principles we don't compromise on:
- Own your role. Know what you own and what great looks like.
- Amp it up. Move fast and hold a high bar.
- We're all in this together. Look for outcomes where Patch and its partners both win.