www.clearygottlieb.com

Data Scientist

Springbok AI by Cleary Gottlieb

Location: Remote (UK)

  • Are you ready to be the person who teaches AI how to think like a lawyer - and lawyers how to think with AI?
  • Do you want to join the team that’s not just building legal tech, but fundamentally rewriting the rules of how legal work gets done?
  • Do you want to work in a team with start-up vibes and have an actual impact on how the world’s sharpest legal minds work?
  • Are you looking to join a team with a people-first culture where your ideas become reality, not backlog items?
  • Are you ready to shape the future of legal AI?

If you answered yes to all these questions, then keep reading because you’re in the right place!

About Springbok AI by Cleary Gottlieb

Springbok AI, powered by Cleary Gottlieb, is where cutting-edge AI meets elite legal expertise.

We’re not just “automating documents” — we’re building the future of legal work from the ground up. Our team is made up of AI engineers, data scientists, software engineers, and product experts who are obsessed with making legal processes smarter, faster, and actually enjoyable to use.

We’re responsible for shipping AI workflows, agents, and tools that lawyers and the business actually want to use. It’s fast-paced, highly collaborative, and deeply creative work. We move quickly, test constantly, and have the rare backing of a world-class law firm that genuinely wants to change how legal work gets done.

This isn’t your standard “legal tech” gig. This is your chance to be in the room where it happens — shaping the next generation of AI-powered legal tools with one of the sharpest teams in the game.

The Team

We’re a tight-knit 12 person strong team, and we’re built on the values of meritocracy, pragmatism, honesty, and ownership. The combination of our diverse academic backgrounds - Physics, Neuroscience, Mathematics, Engineering, Psychology, etc - and our ability to draw on the latest findings in scientific research enables us to design cutting-edge solutions that make AI real – now inside Cleary Gottlieb. The Springbok AI team at Cleary is remote-first, but we have access to a beautiful office in London Moorgate for anyone who prefers to work in-person. We also get together for social team hangouts and off-sites.

The Role

We’re looking for a Data Scientist who thrives on turning complex legal data into powerful AI systems. You’ll be part data detective, part AI architect, part innovation catalyst.

If you’re passionate about LLMs, document intelligence, and building AI that transforms how lawyers work, this role is for you. We need someone who’s built something impressive with LLMs, a pipeline, an agent, something you can demonstrate and discuss in detail.

You should have some experience with most of the below:

  • Multi-modal models
  • Prompt Engineering
  • Deep Research-type models
  • Document understanding and extraction pipelines
  • Multi-agent architectures
  • Vector embeddings and semantic search technologies
  • Evals and LLM observability

Strong ML fundamentals are essential. You should understand why an LLM excels at certain tasks but fails at others, because you understand what’s happening with transformer architectures.

Software engineering skills are valuable but not required. You must write clean, readable Python code. Research-grade is the minimum; production-ready code is a significant advantage.

A legal background is not required; however, a genuine interest in legal work is
essential. Candidates who are intrigued by contracts and legal processes will find this position well suited to their interests. Experience with document automation or familiarity with legal workflows will be considered a significant advantage.

This is a hands-on role focused on building practical solutions that lawyers will use daily, not academic research.

As Data Scientist at Springbok AI by Cleary Gottlieb, you’ll...

  • Building production AI systems: Build document classifiers, contract analyzers, and tools that genuinely improve legal workflows.
  • Data Engineering: Transform legal data into structured, high-quality datasets that power our AI systems.
  • Prompt Architecting: Develop custom LLM architectures for legal applications, precise clause extraction, comprehensive risk assessment, and intelligent document analysis.
  • Designing Frameworks: Design rigorous evaluation frameworks, iterate rapidly, and ensure our models deliver real value.
  • Research and Innovation: Stay current with AI/ML developments and identify opportunities to apply cutting-edge techniques to legal challenges.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with engineers and legal experts to build solutions that address real business needs.

About You

We’re looking for an excellent human to join our superstar team. As we continue to develop our internal portfolio, you’ll be instrumental in driving the next phase of our growth within the Firm. We’re just getting started!

The mindset and traits that make you successful at Springbok AI by Cleary Gottlieb

  • You’re a fast learner with a growth mindset: this trait is by far the biggest indicator of success in the Springbok AI team.
  • A natural translator: you can explain technical things to legal people.
  • Self-directed: you like figuring things out, starting from scratch, and building processes where none exist yet.
  • Problem-solver at heart: if something isn’t working, your instinct is to dig in and find a better way.

The experience that will give you a competitive advantage

  • 3+ years building ML/AI systems in production environments.
  • Strong NLP experience, particularly with complex documents and structured text.
  • Hands-on LLM experience including fine-tuning, prompt engineering, and model optimization.
  • Python fluency plus the usual suspects (pandas, numpy, LangGraph/LangChain, LlamaIndex, Hugging Face, SQL,).
  • Cloud platform experience (we’re AWS and Azure) and MLOps skills for actually shipping models.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with ability to break down complex challenges.
  • Genuine excitement about pushing AI boundaries in specialized domains.

Bonus Points

  • Startup or fast-paced AI environment experience.
  • Masters or PhD in something quantitative and impressive.
  • Vector databases, retrieval systems, or knowledge graphs experience.
  • Familiarity with Docker and container orchestration is a plus.
  • Legal tech, fintech, or other “move fast but don’t break compliance” industry background.
  • Publications or open-source contributions that make us go “wow”.
  • Experience with data visualization, dashboarding, and reporting on data.
  • Experience with Spark or Databricks and related technologies.

Research shows that candidates are less likely to apply to positions for which they do not meet 100% of the job criteria. If you’re excited about the role and meet some of the above criteria but are unsure whether you’re a good fit, we still strongly encourage you to apply. Here at Springbok AI by Cleary Gottlieb, your biggest indicator of success is your rate of learning, not pure experience.

Why you’ll love it here

  • Your AI systems will directly impact how legal work gets done across a leading global law firm.
  • Join a focused team with the resources and ambition to transform an entire industry.
  • Accelerated learning across legal domain expertise, product development, and cutting-edge AI research.

If you are interested in applying, please submit a CV and short cover letter to the London Human Resources Team, LON-HR@cgsh.com.