---
title: 'Director, Litigation at Perplexity'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-litigation-perplexity-san-francisco-9bzv0xf5vjtf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-20'
---

# Director, Litigation at Perplexity

- **Company:** [Perplexity](https://feeny.ai/companies/perplexity)
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Compensation:** $275k–$375k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-08-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-20
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/perplexity/ea29039d-3900-43d3-a555-ff790677cbe9

## Job description

Perplexity AI is looking for a sharp, entrepreneurial litigation attorney to join our small legal team to help advance the business, protect the products we are building, and revolutionize the way people search and interact with the internet. This unique role offers significant responsibility, direct ownership of high stakes matters, and growth potential across an in-house practice group.

This is a unique role within a rapidly growing AI technology company. You will play a key role in safeguarding Perplexity’s interests by managing litigation files and pre-litigation disputes related to our AI answer engine, models, and technologies, while helping to build and scale our litigation function. You will oversee complex disputes in a fast-moving and often unsettled legal landscape, spanning intellectual property (including copyright), privacy, commercial, and regulatory matters, and you will work closely with our AI, engineering, and product teams to assess legal risk, develop litigation strategy, and provide guidance during disputes involving our products and services.

The ideal candidate combines deep substantive knowledge of litigation practice and procedure with strong business judgment and practical problem-solving abilities. You are comfortable confronting novel legal issues, including questions where the rules are still being written, and you bring intellectual curiosity about AI technology, adaptability in an emerging landscape, and exceptional collaboration skills. Success in this role requires a deep understanding of high-growth startup environments, where you will pair traditional legal expertise with sharp business risk assessment. We are seeking someone who is inquisitive, has an entrepreneurial drive, and the agility to thrive in our fast-paced environment.

## Key Responsibilities

- Manage litigation matters and pre-litigation disputes across all phases, including strategy, pleadings, motions, discovery, depositions, hearings, trials, and appeals, while developing comprehensive case strategies that align with business objectives.
- Provide counsel across a broad range of disputes, including intellectual property (copyright, trademark, and trade secret), privacy, commercial, and regulatory matters, in both first-party and third-party contexts.
- Evaluate and respond to litigation threats, demands, and disputes across jurisdictions, developing appropriate matter-resolution proposals that resolve issues with minimal disruption to the business.
- Select, onboard, manage, and collaborate with outside counsel across all stages of disputes. Negotiate budgets and fee arrangements, monitor performance, and hold outside counsel accountable for delivering optimal results while maintaining cost efficiency.
- Partner closely with AI, product, and engineering teams to proactively identify litigation risks in product development and go-to-market strategies, and to collect information efficiently in support of active matters. Translate complex legal requirements into practical, actionable guidance for technical teams.
- Assist in responding to regulatory investigations and inquiries from government regulators and private organizations relating to our products and services.
- Build internal litigation processes, policies, and tools, including legal-hold and discovery workflows, that support litigation and regulatory matters efficiently and can scale with company growth.
- Monitor the evolving legal and regulatory landscape for AI, copyright, and privacy; translate court decisions, agency guidance, and legislative developments into timely, executive-ready advice; and communicate with business leaders about ongoing litigation, emerging risks, and preventive measures.

## Qualifications

- JD and in good standing with an active US state bar membership (California preferred)
- At least 15+ years of law firm and/or in-house experience handling complex commercial litigation (with experience representing emerging technology companies preferred)
- Deep substantive knowledge of litigation practice and procedure, with a demonstrated history of strong outcomes and effective case execution
- Exceptional analytical, organizational, and collaboration skills, strong business acumen, and the ability to partner with business and technical teams
- An ability to communicate clearly and credibly with business and technical audiences, including translating genuinely unsettled legal doctrine into concise, business-relevant advice for executives and engineers without over-hedging
- Hands-on attitude to tackle projects large and small, and a low-ego, roll-up-your-sleeves approach to working across the organization
- Excellent composure in stressful situations, high level of integrity, intellectual curiosity, and the ability to work independently with limited guidance while exercising good judgment about when to escalate
- Thrive working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

## Nice to Have

- Experience managing copyright and privacy litigation, as well as commercial disputes, for AI or other emerging technology companies
- Experience managing regulatory responses or investigations, including both first-party and third-party responses
- Experience building or scaling a litigation function at a growth-stage company, with creativity and an openness to novel solutions
- Experience litigating cases in multiple jurisdictions, including internationally
- A passion for supporting the development of AI that is both innovative and trustworthy

## About Perplexity

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Perplexity builds an AI-powered answer engine that delivers accurate, real-time answers to any question, serving curious minds and professionals who demand precision and speed.
- **Entity Type**: Private (total funding $1.7B across 16 rounds)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, Andy Konwinski

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: AI-powered search and knowledge retrieval, Software Development
- **Target customers**: B2C (general users), B2B (enterprise API customers), and power users seeking reliable information
- **Mission**: “AI for people who expect more – more accuracy, more agency, more signal, less noise.”

## Products & Services
- **Perplexity AI (Free Tier)**: Real-time conversational search engine that synthesizes web results with citations, accessible via web and mobile app. *Type*: SaaS
- **Perplexity Pro**: Subscription offering enhanced features such as advanced AI models, multimodal search, and increased usage limits. *Type*: SaaS (subscription)
- **Perplexity API Platform**: Enables developers to integrate Perplexity’s search and reasoning capabilities into their own applications. *Type*: API
- **Perplexity Browser Extension**: Brings AI-powered search directly into the browser for quick answers without leaving the page. *Type*: Browser extension

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly available in provided sources (prior reports indicate ~$9B valuation as of 2024, but not confirmed in this data set)
- **Key Metric**: Total funding $1.7B (16 rounds); annual revenue ~$50M (LinkedIn estimate)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not explicitly listed in provided search results; widely known investors include IVP, NEA, Jeff Bezos, and others (not sourced here)
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 11.3% YoY to 1,152 employees; operates in 54 countries; LinkedIn followers grew 131.8% yearly to >1.6M; active hiring across 48+ open roles including AI Research, Engineering, and Go-to-Market teams

## Competitive Advantages
- **Real-time, cited answers**: Unlike traditional chatbots, Perplexity grounds answers in live web results with transparent sources, building trust and accuracy.
- **Multimodal and agentic capabilities**: Continuously pushes frontier research (e.g., query-aware context compression, agents for knowledge work) that differentiates from generic LLM interfaces.
- **Vertical integration from research to product**: In-house AI research team tackles open problems unique to Perplexity’s scale, enabling fast iteration on novel methods.
- **Strong brand and user base**: Rapid consumer adoption with millions of monthly active users and high engagement.

## Strategic Focus
- **Pushing the frontier of search**: Evolving from retrieval services to code generation, agents, and full autonomy in knowledge work.
- **Expanding enterprise and API revenue**: Growing B2B footprint with API platform and enterprise solutions.
- **Global hiring and office expansion**: Offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, Austin, Washington D.C., London, Berlin, and Belgrade, with “4 days in office” hybrid model.
- **Investing in AI research**: Dedicated research division (Perplexity Research) exploring reasoning, agents, and systems to redefine how people navigate the internet.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture & Environment**: “Thoughtful support” culture with emphasis on craftsmanship, ownership, entrepreneurship, scholarship, and partnership. Hybrid schedule (4 days in-office) based on location.
- **Perks**: Daily catered meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner in office), office snacks, ride home program, commuter benefits, home office reimbursement, fitness classes, gym memberships.
- **Compensation & Benefits**: Competitive salary and equity packages; retirement plans with company match; flexible PTO; holiday shutdown between Christmas and New Year; 12 weeks paid bonding leave; comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance.
- **Relocation & Visa Support**: Relocation assistance and visa/green card sponsorship for eligible roles. Partners with immigration firm to support the process.
- **Engineering Excellence**: “Technical assessment for relevant roles”; values hands-on contribution, broad skill sets, and merit-based evaluation. Frequent Tech Talks and exposure to greenfield AI research problems.

## Sources
1. [perplexity.ai/hub/careers](https://www.perplexity.ai/hub/careers)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/perplexity](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/perplexity)
3. [perplexity.ai](https://www.perplexity.ai/)
4. [linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai](https://www.linkedin.com/company/perplexity-ai)
5. [research.perplexity.ai](https://research.perplexity.ai/)

## Other roles at Perplexity

- [Member of Technical Staff, AI Products (Early Career - Industry)](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-ai-products-early-career-industry-perplexity-san-n7mqgnq0k9wy) — San Francisco, CA
- [Perplexity Research Fellowship](https://feeny.ai/job/perplexity-research-fellowship-perplexity-san-francisco-0es9v2neb95e) — San Francisco, CA
- [Consumer Support Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/consumer-support-specialist-perplexity-united-states-0hqy6w22e87q) — United States
- [Sales Leader, Sales Development, Enterprise](https://feeny.ai/job/sales-leader-sales-development-enterprise-perplexity-san-francisco-d50x3nstzfmz) — San Francisco, CA
- [Member of Technical Staff (Search Core, Indexing & Data Pipeline Stream)](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-search-core-indexing-data-pipeline-stream-perplexity-j7ww3625jy4a) — Belgrade, Serbia
- [Engineering Manager (API Platform)](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-api-platform-perplexity-san-francisco-m5zabzwvyg4n) — San Francisco, CA
- [Commercial Counsel/Senior Counsel](https://feeny.ai/job/commercial-counsel-senior-counsel-perplexity-san-francisco-k380fepz6jj9) — San Francisco, CA
- [Sr. Business Recruiter, Communications & Marketing](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-business-recruiter-communications-marketing-perplexity-san-francisco-6z5wtn4ngews) — San Francisco, CA
- [Engineering Manager (TLM, Agents)](https://feeny.ai/job/engineering-manager-tlm-agents-perplexity-san-francisco-jfph9rwygra2) — San Francisco, CA
- [Member of Technical Staff (AI Software Engineer, Agents)](https://feeny.ai/job/member-of-technical-staff-ai-software-engineer-agents-perplexity-san-francisco-3t0fk5nq3yjw) — San Francisco, CA