Commercial Contracts Manager

Nominal•Washington, DC

About The Position

Nominal's Legal team supports commercial software agreements with aerospace and autonomy companies, as well as agreements with prime contractors across the defense industrial base. As the commercial business grows, contract volume and complexity are increasing. The Commercial Contracts Manager will own commercial contracting and proposals, allowing attorneys to focus on the highest-risk legal work. The role is suited to a contracts professional with experience in commercial technology deals and defense-prime contracting who wants to help shape the contracts function. The position partners with Sales, Finance, Security, the Government team, and Legal.

Requirements

Experience negotiating commercial technology contracts, such as SaaS, software licensing, or services agreements, in-house or at a firm.
Hands-on experience with contracts between commercial suppliers and defense or aerospace prime contractors, including FAR and DFARS flowdowns and security and commerciality addendums.
A track record of owning a high volume of deals end to end while keeping turnaround times short.
Experience writing or managing proposals and responses to institutional RFPs or RFQs from large procurement or CIO functions.
Working knowledge of contract lifecycle management (CLM) tools and e-signature workflows.
Sound judgment about which risks to accept, which need a fallback, and when to involve an attorney.
Clear communication with Sales, Finance, and Engineering partners who are not contract specialists.
Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with export controls (ITAR and EAR) and deployability considerations, including common cloud hosting and support structures, in commercial contracts.
Experience building a contracts function at a global venture-backed startup.
Familiarity with commercial SaaS pricing and global contracting considerations, such as the UK, beyond the U.S.

Responsibilities

Negotiate and manage commercial agreements end to end, including software licenses, SaaS subscriptions, MSAs, NDAs, and partner and vendor contracts.
Build and maintain Nominal's commercial contracts playbook, templates, and fallback positions so most deals can close without attorney escalation.
Improve contracting processes from intake and approvals through signature, including contract tools, automations, and metrics, in partnership with the Deal-Ops team.
Track post-signature obligations, including renewals, notice periods, and customer commitments, and ensure the relevant teams act on them.
Mentor future contracts teammates and serve as a go-to partner for commercial deal questions across the company.