Overview As Senior Counsel, Government Contracts, you partner with business and technical leaders to navigate complex federal contracting. You will lead negotiations on OTAs, federal R&D contracts, subcontracts, and related instruments, while ensuring compliance with FAR/DFARS and export controls. You'll shape strategy, create templates and training, and help scale the company's government-program capabilities. This role sits at the intersection of high-stakes deals, regulated technology, and rapid growth, offering meaningful impact in a public quantum-tech company.
Compensation / Benefits- 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision
- Employer-funded Health Savings Account
- Unlimited PTO
- 401(k) match
- Company-paid Life and AD&D Insurance
- Equity package
Responsibilities- Lead negotiation and management of government agreements (OTAs, federal R&D contracts, grants, subcontracts, teaming and collaboration agreements).
- Handle proposals, pre-award and post-award documents, contract modifications, claims, disputes, and compliance communications.
- Advise on FAR, DFARS, agency supplements, and lifecycle requirements across opportunities and programs.
- Assess and mitigate risks related to IP/data rights, cost/pricing, audit, cybersecurity, export controls, domestic sourcing, labor, and flow-downs.
- Coordinate with internal teams on significant government-contracting issues, including strategy, approvals, and customer communications.
- Collaborate with Export Control and technical stakeholders on ITAR/EAR implications for government programs.
- Develop templates, playbooks, and training to enable rapid, compliant business and program execution.
Key requirements- 8+ years of relevant legal experience with substantial federal government contracting responsibility.
- Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school.
- Significant experience negotiating and counseling on complex federal contracts, subcontracts, subawards, and teaming arrangements.
- Expertise in FAR and DFARS; meaningful experience with OTAs required.
- Experience supporting DoD or other federal R&D programs, ideally as prime contractor or within defense/tech/research organizations.
- Working knowledge of IP and data-rights in government contracts, including software and technical data rights, flow-downs, and compliance.
- Strong executive communication skills and ability to translate contract risk into practical business guidance.
- Familiarity with ITAR/EAR and export-control issues preferred.
- strong communication
- ownership mindset
- bias toward action
- FAR and DFARS
- OTAs
- IP and data-rights considerations under government contracts
