Head of Legal

About Ornn

Ornn is building the financial infrastructure for AI compute. Our price indices are live on Bloomberg Terminal. We structure and trade compute hedging instruments. And we're now building a platform that brings exchange-grade mechanics like order management, matching, scheduling, and settlement to how compute capacity gets reserved and allocated. We're a lean team in New York, backed by leading venture and strategic investors.

About the Role

This is Ornn's first legal hire. You will own the legal function end to end, building it rather than inheriting it. That means the derivatives and benchmark work: ISDA documentation for our compute swaps, confirmations and master agreements with institutional counterparties, index licensing agreements with exchange listing teams, and the governance framework. It includes the commercial work: capacity offtake and tenant agreements with neocloud operators, data licensing agreements, and the platform terms that govern how counterparties transact on the Exchange. 
Much of your day is spent deciding what regulatory perimeter a given product sits inside, drafting and negotiating contracts, and giving teams a clear legal answer under time pressure without overstating your confidence. You will run a small budget of outside counsel across derivatives, structured finance, and corporate, and your judgment about when to escalate and when to decide is the core of the job.
You will report to the founders and work daily with capital markets, sales, product, and engineering.

What You'll Do

• Own the derivatives documentation stack for Ornn's cash-settled compute swaps: ISDA master agreements, schedules, credit support annexes, and product confirmations, plus counterparty onboarding and eligibility.
• Build and maintain the governance framework around OCPI as a published benchmark.
• Negotiate index license agreements with exchanges and data licensing agreements with consulting firms, hyperscalers, neoclouds, and enterprise buyers.
• Work with the capital markets team on Ornn Compute: SPV and issuer-level documentation, offering and distribution mechanics, and alignment between the financial engineering and the legal structure.
• Own commercial contracting with neocloud partners and tenants, including capacity offtake agreements, platform participation terms, and the service commitments that sit behind them.
• Define Ornn's regulatory position across the product line. 
• Run corporate legal: financings, equity administration, governance, employment, IP, and privacy.

What We're Looking For

Requirements

• JD and an active U.S. law license.
• 2+ years of practice, with a mix of law firm and in-house experience.
• Depth in at least one of: derivatives and commodities (ISDA documentation, CFTC regulation, exchange or benchmark work), or structured finance and securities (SPVs, private offerings, securitization).
• Demonstrated ability to give clear, plain-English answers to business leaders under deadline, including when the law is unsettled.
• Comfort operating as the only lawyer in the room, with judgment about when to decide and when to bring in outside counsel.
• Strong drafting and negotiation across commercial agreements.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience at an exchange, clearing house, benchmark administrator, or trading venue.
• Familiarity with data center, cloud, or compute infrastructure contracting, including capacity, colocation, or power agreements.
• Experience standing up a legal function from scratch at an early-stage company.
• Exposure to a new asset class or a product launched ahead of settled regulatory guidance.
• Fluency with AI tooling in legal workflow.

Why This Role Matters

This hire is the person who turns open legal questions into signed structures. Propelling business development forward, thoughtfully and compliantly.

Compensation and Benefits

Benefits include competitive salary, meaningful equity, health coverage, free meals, and additional benefits. This is a leadership role with significant strategic impact and equity upside.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Ornn is committed to building a diverse team. We evaluate candidates based on their ability to do the work, not on pedigree or background. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences.