Legal Response Specialist at Perplexity (San Francisco, CA)

Perplexity· San Francisco, CA· $100k–$115k·3d ago

Role details

Salary

$100k–$115k

Work type

Hybrid

Employment

Full-Time

Equity

Yes

Perplexity at a glance

AI-powered answer engine that returns real-time, cited answers, now expanding into an agentic browser and on-device agents.

Perplexity runs an AI answer engine that searches the live web and returns direct, cited answers instead of a page of links. It has extended that core into an AI browser (Comet), an on-device agent (Computer), a developer API, and vertical tools like patent search.

$1.7B raised · latest: Series E extension · $200M · 2025 (reported $20B valuation) · backed by Accel, IVP, NEA, SoftBank Vision Fund 2

Job description

We're hiring a Legal Response Specialist on Perplexity's Support team to handle legal and other sensitive tickets. You'll help Legal answer routine requests for information and support Governance, Risk & Compliance, or GRC, on privacy and security requests. You'll review cases, write responses, and follow up until the work is done. Support Engineering owns the routing and safeguards that keep these tickets from being missed, answered by AI, or automatically closed.

Responsibilities

Monitor designated Support and Legal channels, assess urgency, and route requests for human review. Promptly escalate government, court, law enforcement, and legal-threat requests according to approved procedures.
Respond to routine requests using Legal-approved templates and guidance. Escalate matters requiring legal interpretation or disclosure of user information.
Answer routine requests for information under Legal's guidance. Gather account history and draft responses for matters that need review.
Help GRC process data subject requests and meet deadlines. Follow approved identity-verification and data-handling procedures.
Coordinate security questionnaires and data protection agreements, with Legal and GRC responsible for substantive review and approval.
Track each case through completion, including after handoffs. Record decisions, follow up on deadlines, and confirm the work is done before closing.
Work with Support Engineering to test routing, AI bypass rules, auto-close protections, and alerts. Investigate missed cases and verify fixes.
Keep approved replies and handoff instructions current with Legal and GRC. Arrange backup coverage so cases keep moving when you're out.
Handle other sensitive support escalations. Report backlog, response times, overdue cases, and recurring problems to Support, Legal, and GRC.

Requirements

5+ years in support, trust and safety, legal or privacy operations, or compliance, ideally at a technology company.
Experience handling legal, privacy, or law enforcement requests.
Working knowledge of GDPR, CCPA, and data subject requests.
Judgment about when to involve Legal or GRC, and care with confidential and privileged information.
Clear writing, including in sensitive customer conversations.
Ability to manage competing deadlines and follow through without reminders.
Experience improving support processes with technical teams, including automation and AI safeguards.

Nice to have

Experience with Intercom, Decagon, Linear, or Kodex.
Paralegal, privacy, or compliance experience or certification.
Experience with security questionnaires, SOC 2, ISO 27001, or HIPAA.
Familiarity with AI products or data tools for case reviews.

Why work at Perplexity

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.

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.

Sources