Commercial Contracts Manager

Nooks•El Segundo, CA

9d•$123,000 - $136,000

About The Position

Nooks is hiring a Commercial Contracts Manager to own the lifecycle of its commercial agreements, from initial review and negotiation through signature, amendments, extensions, and renewals. The role is responsible for helping agreements reach signature faster while maintaining approved contract positions. The manager will develop Nooks’ first commercial contract playbook with outside counsel, apply it to negotiations, and maintain the playbook and templates as negotiation patterns and legal guidance evolve. This full-time individual-contributor role reports to the VP of Growth and takes legal direction from outside counsel. It partners closely with Growth and negotiates directly with customer legal and procurement teams. Material terms, including price and duration, are escalated to the VP of Growth with recommendations. Pricing, government contracts, regulatory flow-down clauses, and security classification requirements are owned by others and should be routed to them. The role also supports proposals, maintains complete agreement records in a contract lifecycle management tool or structured repository, and tracks contract cycle time and playbook deviations. The position requires independent commercial-contract negotiation experience and the ability to explain contract risk clearly to non-lawyers. Experience with defense contractors or cleared-industry customers is relevant; a J.D. or paralegal certification is highly preferred. Occasional travel for company events and select customer negotiations is expected. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States; an active security clearance is preferred but not required. The stated salary range is $123,000–$136,000 USD, with a yearly bonus structure, equity ownership, premium health coverage, a 401(k) employer contribution, and flexible time away.

Requirements

Five or more years reviewing, redlining, and negotiating commercial agreements with substantial independence.
Working command of core commercial terms, including liability limits, indemnification, insurance, termination, service levels, and payment.
Track record of negotiating directly with customer legal and procurement teams while holding positions and keeping deals moving.
Ability to understand business requirements and translate them into agreement terms.
Experience drafting or maintaining contract templates or playbooks with defined standard and fallback positions.
Plain-language writing skills to explain contract risk to non-lawyers and frame clear escalation recommendations.
Comfort working independently while soliciting direction from Legal, Growth, and Government delivery functions.
Must be authorized to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

J.D. or paralegal certification (highly preferred).
Experience contracting with defense contractors or other cleared-industry customers.
Experience managing a contracts process using a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system or structured contract repository.
Active security clearance (preferred but not required).

Responsibilities

Review, redline, and negotiate commercial customer agreements, including service agreements, NDAs, and teaming agreements, in accordance with approved playbook positions.
Decide non-material terms within guidelines and escalate material terms, such as price and duration, to the VP of Growth with a recommendation.
Draft and negotiate amendments, extensions, and renewals of executed commercial agreements in line with current playbook positions.
Draft the commercial contract playbook, including standard, fallback, and walk-away positions, for approval by the VP of Growth and outside counsel.
Maintain commercial contract templates and the playbook, proposing updates when negotiation patterns or counsel guidance indicate existing positions should change.
Train the Growth team on playbook positions so routine terms can be addressed in sales conversations.
Prepare contract content for proposals, including terms, exceptions, and representations and certifications, and contribute broader proposal content when needed.
Maintain a complete record of each commercial agreement in a contracts lifecycle management tool, including executed versions, approvals, key dates, and renewal triggers.
Track and report contract cycle time and playbook deviations to the VP of Growth, identifying terms or steps that slow deals.
Review all commercial customer, vendor, and supplier agreements for the company.
Partner with Growth and negotiate directly with customer legal and procurement teams.
Follow outside counsel’s legal direction and route pricing, government contracts, regulatory flow-down clauses, and security classification requirements to their designated owners.
Occasionally travel for company events and select customer negotiations.