Senior Director of Commercial and Legal Affairs
About the job
- Deep experience drafting and negotiating complex commercial agreements, including enterprise customer and strategic partnership transactions.
- Strong understanding of SaaS business models, cloud services, and technology transactions.
- Solid working knowledge of global privacy and data protection laws, with the ability to translate legal requirements into practical business guidance.
- Demonstrated experience providing product counseling to product and engineering teams.
- Fluency in legal issues raised by AI, including AI in products, AI-assisted contracting, and AI governance, or the ability to build depth in this area quickly.
- Prior experience managing, mentoring, and developing legal team members in an in-house environment.
- J.D. degree and active U.S. bar membership in good standing.
- 10 or more years of relevant legal experience, with substantial experience negotiating and leading complex technology transactions, including enterprise SaaS agreements and strategic partnerships.
- Meaningful in-house legal experience, preferably at a high-growth technology or SaaS company.
- Strong experience supporting enterprise sales motions, partner and channel relationships, and global commercial operations.
- Working knowledge of global privacy and data protection laws, with experience advising on data protection obligations in commercial agreements and product offerings.
- Experience providing practical legal guidance to product and engineering teams throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Familiarity with, or genuine willingness to develop fluency in, AI and its legal, privacy, and commercial implications, and comfort using AI tools to work more efficiently.
- Prior experience managing, mentoring, or developing legal team members, or demonstrated readiness to take on people management responsibilities.
- Lead the company’s commercial contracting function, serving as the primary legal owner for complex, high-value, and strategic transactions.
- Draft, review, and negotiate sophisticated commercial agreements, including enterprise SaaS agreements, MSAs, SOWs, partnership and channel agreements, reseller agreements, professional services agreements, consulting agreements, and related technology transactions.
- Serve as the senior escalation point for complex or high-risk negotiations, providing strategic guidance to Sales, Business Development, and executive stakeholders.
- Ensure commercial terms align with Backblaze’s business objectives, risk tolerance, and long-term growth strategy.
- Provide practical, business-oriented legal advice on global privacy and data protection matters, including GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable data protection regimes.
- Oversee and support the development, negotiation, and maintenance of data protection agreements, privacy terms, and related contractual frameworks.
- Partner with Security, Compliance, and Product teams to assess privacy risk and integrate data protection obligations into business processes and products.
- Advise Product and Engineering teams on product design, feature development, and launches from inception through release.
- Counsel on data use, AI and machine learning, intellectual property, open source, and regulatory considerations affecting product development.
- Advise on commercial, privacy, and contractual terms for AI features and AI-driven workloads, and help the business adopt AI responsibly and quickly.
- Help teams identify and mitigate legal risk while enabling innovation and speed.
- Lead the development and continuous improvement of commercial playbooks, templates, policies, and negotiation frameworks to support efficient scaling.
- Optimize contracting processes to improve speed, consistency, and quality while maintaining appropriate controls, including through AI-enabled contracting and legal tooling.
- Partner with Legal Operations to enhance tooling, workflows, and reporting related to commercial and privacy matters.
- Stay current on legal and regulatory developments relevant to cloud services, SaaS, privacy, AI, and technology transactions.
- Partner with Sales, Product, Engineering, Marketing, Finance, Security, and other cross-functional teams, and collaborate with Legal and Compliance leaders to align the broader legal function.
- Provide internal stakeholders with training and guidance on contracting best practices, privacy requirements, and risk awareness.
- Lead and manage legal professionals supporting commercial, privacy, and product counseling functions.
- Provide mentorship, coaching, and performance management to support professional growth and high-quality legal work.
- Set clear priorities, allocate work effectively, and ensure consistent, high-impact legal support across the business.
- Partner with the Legal & Compliance team and senior leadership on team planning, resourcing, and process improvements as the function scales.
- Fluency in AI-related legal issues or a strong interest and demonstrated ability to build depth quickly.
- Meaningful in-house legal experience, preferably at a high-growth technology or SaaS company.
About the company
Backblaze provides cloud storage and data backup services for individuals, businesses, and developers. Its products include Backblaze Computer Backup, which automatically backs up computers for a fixed monthly fee, and Backblaze B2 Cloud Storage, an affordable IaaS with S3-compatible APIs for developers and enterprises. The company runs on purpose-built, commodity-hardware infrastructure and publishes detailed drive-performance reports to ensure transparency, with features like cloud replication and flexible version history. Its goal is to offer simple, affordable, and reliable data protection and cloud storage that scales from individuals to enterprises.
Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
San Mateo, California
Founded
2007
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Q2 2026 B2 revenue grew 34% to $26.6 million, accelerating AI demand.
- August 2026 raised 2026 revenue guidance to $172 million-$174 million after CoreWeave.
- WEKA partnership broadens Backblaze's AI ecosystem reach on September 10, 2026.
What critics are saying
- Computer Backup revenue fell 2.2% in Q2 2026, shrinking Backblaze's legacy cash engine.
- Backblaze issued $175 million notes in August 2026, adding dilution and refinancing pressure.
- If CoreWeave ramps stall, Backblaze's AI pivot loses the growth story Wall Street now funds.
What makes Backblaze unique
- Backblaze's B2 Overdrive delivers 1Tbps, unlimited egress, and S3 compatibility.
- June 2026 CoreWeave deal validates Backblaze's managed storage layer for AI workloads.
- Backblaze's commodity-hardware, transparency-first operating model lowers costs versus hyperscalers.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Retirement Plan
401(k) Company Match
Flexible Vacation Policy
Maternity & paternity leave
Commuter Benefits
Fertility Treatment Support
Learning & development program
Stock Options
RSUs
ESPP program
Hybrid Work Options
Remote Work Options
Paid Vacation
Paid Holidays
Paid Sick Leave
Wellness Program
Mental Health Support
Gym Membership
Phone/Internet Stipend
Home Office Stipend
Childcare Support
Adoption Assistance
Parental Leave
Family Planning Benefits
Tuition Reimbursement
Professional Development Budget
Conference Attendance Budget
Employee Discounts
Legal Services
Meal Benefits
Relocation Assistance
Performance Bonus
Profit Sharing
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
Growth & Insights and Company News
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-2%WEKA partnering Backblaze for its B2 cloud storage. Chris Mellor STORAGE EDITOR Blocks & Files editor Published thu 10 Sep 2026 // 14:03 UTC WEKA, which supplies high-speed unstructured data access for AI and accelerated computing, has a deal with Backblaze to store data needed for re-use in its B2 cloud storage. The two companies say GPUs need extremely fast access to data to stay fed, while the datasets, checkpoints and outputs surrounding those workloads are growing toward enormous scale and that data can need retaining. They are combining WEKA NeuralMesh for performance-sensitive AI and accelerated computing workloads with Backblaze B2 cloud object storage as the capacity layer for large datasets and retained AI assets. In effect, hot data in WEKA and cold data in B2's cloud. Data can be kept on the appropriate tier as it moves through ingestion, training, checkpointing, inference and downstream workflows. You can't keep once hot AI data on flash for ever. Gleb Budman, Backblaze's CEO, said: "AI teams need their GPUs fed and an infrastructure with the performance and capacity to support the full AI data workflow. WEKA has mastered the performance tier. Blocks & Files has spent nearly two decades doing the same for capacity storage. Together, AI teams get a qualified, complete solution to ensure fast and efficient production,. WEKA Chief Strategy Officer Nilesh Patel, neatly put forward WEKA's point of view: "AI workloads are stretching storage in two directions at once. GPUs need microsecond access to data to stay fed, while datasets and checkpoints are growing to exabyte scale. Our collaboration with Backblaze gives customers a validated path to both - without the cost of building and testing that integration themselves. Speed where it matters, scale wherever you need it." For example, raw training data (training sets, media libraries, source files) can reside in B2, move into NeuralMesh when needed for a performance-sensitive workload, and checkpoints and outputs can then return to B2 for retention and future reuse, or in situations where recovery to an earlier stage of testing is necessary. WEKA's Snap-to-Object capability has tested with Backblaze, enabling teams to recover checkpoints or saved inference data from the B2 capacity tier. Backblaze recently signed a $335 million strategic agreement with CoreWeave for that Neocloud to use B2 cloud storage for retained AI data. Coreweave is the fourth major AI cloud infrastructure company to contract with Backblaze in this way. Certification of B2 Cloud Storage for NeuralMesh is underway. Customers can contact Backblaze or WEKA to get started. Bootnote. Scality and WEKA set up a similar deal to the WEKA-Backblaze one, using WEKA's NeuralMesh high-performance storage with Scality RING's cost-efficient object tier, in February this year. Backblaze competitor Wasabi is also providing cloud storage for AI. It has formed a dedicated AI business, and appointed semiconductor and storage veteran Pinaki Mukherjee as SVP and GM to lead it. It says it stores hundreds of petabytes of AI data for frontier model labs, generative AI startups, and Neocloud compute providers worldwide. The new AI business will bring dedicated strategy, partnerships and go-to-market focus for this demand as AI infrastructure matures. Wasabi raised $70 million for AI cloud storage funding in January, and subsequently arranged a $250 million credit facility.
Backblaze and WEKA have announced a collaboration to simplify data management across the AI lifecycle. The partnership combines WEKA's NeuralMesh platform, designed for performance-intensive AI workloads, with Backblaze B2 cloud object storage for large-scale data retention. The solution allows AI teams to keep performance-sensitive workloads on WEKA NeuralMesh whilst storing large datasets, checkpoints, and outputs in Backblaze B2. The integration has been pre-validated, eliminating the need for customers to build and test their own systems. Customers can retain raw training data in B2 and transfer it to NeuralMesh when needed for high-performance computing. WEKA's Snap-to-Object capability enables teams to revert to previous checkpoints or recover inference data. Certification of B2 Cloud Storage for NeuralMesh is currently underway. Backblaze serves over 500,000 customers, whilst WEKA is trusted by 30% of the Fortune 50.
Backblaze, Inc. (Nasdaq: BLZE), the storage platform powering AI and data-intensive workloads, today announced the pricing of $175 million aggregate principa...
Backblaze has priced a $175 million offering of convertible senior notes due 2031, up from the previously announced $150 million. The storage platform company granted initial purchasers an option to buy an additional $26.25 million in notes. The sale is expected to close on 24 August 2026. The notes carry a 0% interest rate and can be converted at an initial price of approximately $21.94 per share, representing a 30% premium over Backblaze's 19 August closing price of $16.88. The company estimates net proceeds of approximately $167.2 million after fees. Backblaze will use about $15.2 million for capped call transactions to reduce potential dilution from note conversions. The remainder will fund general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures. The notes mature on 15 August 2031.
Backblaze stocks hit 55-month high, CoreWeave deal drives 50% surge. 2026-08-04 07:09:54 Key Takeaways * Backblaze Inc. stock soared nearly 50% in Tuesday's opening trade after reporting Q2 earnings per share of $0.08 on $42.7 million revenue. * Backblaze reported B2 Cloud Storage revenue of $26.6 million, up 34% year-on-year, driven by the $335 million CoreWeave strategic agreement. * Backblaze raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to $172 million-$174 million, with CoreWeave contract minimum commitments expected by mid-2027. Shares of Backblaze Inc. (BLZE) soared nearly 50% in Tuesday's opening trade, hitting their highest levels in about 55 months after the cloud storage company reported second-quarter (Q2) earnings per share of $0.08 on revenue of $42.7 million, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $0.02 on $39.9 million. The strong performance was driven by a $335 million strategic agreement with CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) and rising AI demand for data-intensive workloads. The Q2 results prompted multiple Wall Street analysts to raise their price targets on BLZE stock, with Oppenheimer lifting its target to $25 from $15, Lake Street to $21 from $14, and Citizens to $21 from $16, all maintaining positive ratings. AI infrastructure spending and growing enterprise customer traction are fueling momentum in the cloud storage sector as companies seek scalable, cost-effective solutions for AI workloads. Oppenheimer raises BLZE price target to $25 on CoreWeave deal strength. Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron raised his price target on Backblaze to $25 from $15 while maintaining an 'Outperform' rating, saying B2 cloud storage revenue came in well ahead of expectations. Kidron attributed the strong quarter to rising AI demand, improving traction with larger enterprise customers and Backblaze's largest-ever deal with CoreWeave. The analyst said those factors underscore the company's positioning as AI infrastructure spending continues to expand, with the CoreWeave agreement serving as a key contributor to the quarter's outperformance. Lake Street lifts price target to $21 citing CoreWeave revenue ramp. Lake Street raised its price target on Backblaze to $21 from $14 while maintaining a 'Buy' rating, saying revenue from the CoreWeave partnership is expected to build gradually through 2026 because of data transfer limits and the time required to onboard managed services. The firm expects the contract's minimum revenue commitments to "fully kick in" by mid-2027, prompting it to raise its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) estimates for both 2026 and 2027. Lake Street said the phased ramp supports stronger profitability over the next two years as the CoreWeave relationship matures. Citizens raises price target to $21 on broad-based business momentum. Citizens analyst Rustam Kanga raised his price target on Backblaze to $21 from $16, while reiterating an 'Outperform' rating. The analyst pointed to the company's higher full-year outlook, citing broad-based business strength rather than a single growth driver. According to Citizens, strong sales execution, resilient customer retention, growing AI-related demand and the CoreWeave contract support Backblaze's growth outlook, with the raised guidance reinforcing confidence in the company's momentum. Backblaze CEO Gleb Budman reports Q2 EPS of $0.08 on $42.7M revenue. Backblaze co-founder and CEO Gleb Budman called Q2 "an amazing quarter" after the company exceeded the high end of its revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.08 on revenue of $42.7 million, while Wall Street expected an EPS of $0.02 on revenue of $39.9 million, according to Fiscal.ai data. Backblaze stated that its B2 Cloud Storage revenue climbed 34% year-on-year to $26.6 million, driven by growing demand for AI and data-intensive workloads. Budman highlighted the company's recently announced $335 million strategic agreement with CoreWeave as validation of Backblaze's role in the AI infrastructure stack, saying AI workloads require scalable, cost-effective storage where the company is "built to win." Backblaze also raised its full-year 2026 outlook, increasing its revenue forecast to $172 million-$174 million from $161.5 million-$163.5 million, compared to Wall Street estimates of $164.2 million. Retail sentiment on BLZE stock reaches extremely bullish levels. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Backblaze trended in the 'extremely bullish' territory with message volumes at 'extremely high' levels. BLZE stock is up 398% year-to-date and 349% over the past 12 months. The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) is up 31% over the past 12 months, while the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) is up 49%. Faq. What did Backblaze report for Q2 earnings? Backblaze reported Q2 earnings per share of $0.08 on revenue of $42.7 million, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $0.02 on $39.9 million. B2 Cloud Storage revenue climbed 34% year-on-year to $26.6 million. Why did BLZE stock surge nearly 50% in Tuesday's opening trade? BLZE stock surged after the company reported stronger-than-expected Q2 results and announced a $335 million strategic agreement with CoreWeave Inc. Analysts attributed the performance to rising AI demand, improving traction with larger enterprise customers, and the CoreWeave deal. What price targets did analysts set for Backblaze stock? Oppenheimer raised its price target to $25 from $15 with an 'Outperform' rating. Lake Street raised its target to $21 from $14 with a 'Buy' rating. Citizens raised its target to $21 from $16 with an 'Outperform' rating. Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third-party sources and is for reference only. It does not represent the views or opinions of Gate and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Virtual asset trading involves high risk. Please do not rely solely on the information on this page when making decisions. For details, see the Disclaimer.