CLO for startup (equity-heavy role)
About the job Co-Founder / Chief Legal Officer (CLO) U.S.-based only We are not looking for a traditional in-house lawyer or a salaried corporate bureaucrat. We are looking for a co-founder-level legal leader - someone who can build legal structure, compliance architecture, and business-ready solutions from the ground up. About EPASS EPASS is building a next-generation trust and reputation infrastructure for the modern economy. We operate at the intersection of identity, risk, compliance, and decision intelligence. The company is entering the next phase of development, and we are now structuring the legal function for growth, fundraising, commercial execution, and long-term scale. This is not a “maintain what already exists” role. This is a build-from-zero role. Who We Need We need a U.S.-based legal leader with founder mentality. Someone who does not stop at: “this is risky,” “this could be a problem,” “the law may not allow this.” We need someone who can say: “Here is the lawful structure. Here is the compliant path. Here is how we get this done without killing speed.” This role is for a builder, not an observer. A solution architect, not a legal commentator. A person who understands law in depth and knows how to translate legal complexity into executable business decisions.
What You Will Do
Build the company’s legal and compliance architecture from the ground up. Lead drafting, review, and negotiation of key commercial agreements, including vendor, data-provider, strategic partner, and enterprise-facing contracts. Design workable legal frameworks around privacy, data use, risk allocation, governance, and scaling operations. Partner directly with the CEO on legal structuring, fundraising readiness, investor diligence, cap table matters, and data room preparation. Build practical internal systems, templates, workflows, and protections that support business momentum rather than slow it down. Help the company move through legal complexity with speed, structure, and judgment. Take ownership of the legal function as a real operator, not just an advisor. What This Role Is Not This is not the right role for someone who: needs a fully built company before they can operate, prefers only reviewing finished documents, identifies risks but cannot produce solutions, hides behind conservative language instead of helping the business move forward, wants a predictable large-company legal department environment. What Success Looks Like You help build a legal and compliance foundation that is: commercially usable, investor-ready, scalable, and aligned with aggressive company growth. You are expected to identify legal issues and design practical paths forward. Ideal Profile U.S.-licensed attorney. Strong experience in commercial contracts, corporate governance, privacy/data issues, and startup legal infrastructure. Strong exposure to venture fundraising from the legal side: SAFE, priced rounds, investor diligence, term sheets, cap table structure, and closing readiness. Comfortable building from zero in an early-stage environment. Commercially minded, pragmatic, fast, and capable of balancing legal protection with business speed. High ownership, strong judgment, low ego, and real execution ability. Able to think like a founder, not just like outside counsel. Why This Role Matters This is a chance to build the legal backbone of a company at an early stage and shape how the business scales. We are not looking for someone to sit on the sidelines and describe problems. We are looking for someone who can help build the structure that allows the company to move.
Compensation
This is a co-founder-level opportunity with meaningful equity upside tied to long-term value creation. Location Must be based in the United States. How to Reach Out If this sounds like the right fit, reach out directly with: a short introduction, your background, and why you believe you are the kind of legal builder this role requires. Apply To This Job