[Hiring] Legal Engineer @Lawhive

Role Description

We're hiring our first Legal Engineer focused on immigration and removal defense in the US. You'll be a practicing (or previously practicing) deportation defense attorney who wants to build the tools, not just use them.

You'll work in two directions:

• With Product and Engineering, you'll shape deportation-specific functionality in Lawhive.
• With our partner firms, you'll configure Lawhive around how their attorneys and staff actually work.

This is a hands-on role. You'll:

• Write workflows and prompts.
• Test outputs against your own legal judgement.
• Decide what good looks like for a removal defense practice.

You'll start with an established immigration firm with offices and clients across the US.

What You'll Do

• Build with Product:
  • Act as the subject-matter lead for removal defense.
  • Map the end-to-end matter lifecycle, from intake and NTA review through master and individual hearings, relief applications, BIA appeals and bond.
  • Turn that knowledge into product requirements, workflows and acceptance criteria.
  • Design, test and refine the prompts, templates and checks our AI agent uses for immigration work.
  • Build evaluation sets from real matter types and judge output quality.
  • Keep the product current as policy, EOIR practice and agency guidance change.
• Work with partner firms:
  • Spend time with attorneys, paralegals and intake teams to understand where time is lost.
  • Run training and workshops so firms use more of the platform.
  • Measure the effect: time per matter, filing turnaround, matters handled per attorney.
  • Bring firm feedback back to Product.
• Grow the function:
  • Write playbooks for configuring and supporting immigration firms.
  • Help us decide how this model extends to other immigration practice areas.

Qualifications

• JD and active admission to at least one US state bar.
• 3+ years practicing removal defense, with your own caseload in immigration court.
• Familiarity with federal court work for immigration clients.
• A clear view of where immigration practices lose time, and ideas for fixing it.
• Hands-on comfort with technology.
• Good judgement on AI risk in a high-stakes practice area.
• Clear communication with both attorneys and engineers.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and with setting your own priorities in a fast-moving team.

Interview process

• Introductory call with our Talent team.
• 1:1 with your hiring manager.
• Practical skills assessment.
• Values interview with one of our Founders.

Benefits

• 🩺 Healthcare benefits: 'Premium' plan with 100% employee cover and 50% dependent cover.
• ✈️ Vacation: 20 days + 11 Federal holidays + 1 day of Birthday leave.
• 💰 401k: Matching contribution up to 2% of salary.
• 💰 Meaningful early-stage share options.
• 🌍 Work from anywhere for a month.
• 💻 Top-spec Macbook.
• ⛳️ Regular team building activities and socials!