Contract Manager

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals•San Diego, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Crinetics Legal Team is seeking an experienced Contracts Manager to support Technical Operations (formerly CMC) and broader G&A functions. This role serves as a key business partner to Technical Operations, enabling efficient, compliant, and scalable contracting across development, manufacturing, supply chain, and quality operations. This individual will manage a high volume of contracts with external partners, including Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMOs), Contract Development and Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs), suppliers, and service providers. Core responsibilities include drafting, reviewing and negotiating a range of agreements, including but not limited to Master Service Agreements (MSAs), Statements of Work (SOWs), supply and technical services agreements, consulting agreements, and related amendments and change orders. In addition to contract execution, this role will play a critical part in supporting and enabling business stakeholders, including guiding end users through the contract intake process, improving submission quality, and providing training on contracting processes and tools (e.g., Ironclad CLM). The role will also support contract processes tied to GxP compliance, regulatory inspections, and product lifecycle activities, ensuring alignment with company policies and regulatory requirements. This position will contribute to the ongoing maturity and optimization of the end-to-end contracting lifecycle, including process improvements, template standardization, and stakeholder enablement.

Requirements

Paralegal certification or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field is required with 8 years of professional experience.
Minimum of 5 years or recent experience within pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or life sciences industry, with a focus on Technical Operations, manufacturing, or supply chain contracting.
Demonstrated experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating a range of agreements, including but not limited to MSAs, SOWs, supply and technical services agreements, consulting agreements, and related amendments and change orders.
Experience managing high-volume contract workflows, with the ability to prioritize, track, and drive contracts to execution in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Proficiency with Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools including contract intake, workflow management, and reporting.
Strong understanding of GxP/GMP environments and the role of contracts in supporting manufacturing, quality, and regulatory compliance.
Strong negotiation skills, with the ability to assess risk, apply contracting playbooks, and partner with stakeholders to reach practical, business-aligned outcomes.
Proven ability to collaborate cross-functionally with Legal, Technical Operations, Quality, Procurement, and Finance teams.
Experience supporting and guiding business stakeholders, including improving contract intake quality and adherence to contracting processes through training and day-to-day support.
Excellent organizational, communication, and project management skills, with strong attention to detail and accuracy.

Responsibilities

Lead the preparation, review, and negotiation of contracts, ensuring all key terms, including scope, deliverables, milestones, timelines, and termination provisions, are clearly defined, accurately tracked, and aligned with business objectives.
Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Technical Operations, Finance, Procurement, and other stakeholders to support the timely intake, negotiation, execution, and administration of contracts.
Draft, review, and negotiate a range of agreements, including but not limited to MSAs, SOWs, supply and technical services agreements, consulting agreements, and related amendments and change orders.
Support business stakeholders during RFP and proposal processes, ensuring alignment between proposed scope, pricing, and contractual terms, and that contract requests are complete, accurate, and ready for efficient processing.
Ensure contract terms align with company policies, playbooks, and regulatory requirements, and independently draft, review, and resolve redlines in coordination with internal stakeholders.
Identify contractual, operational, or compliance risks and escalate appropriately, providing clear issue framing and recommended paths forward.
Independently manage high-volume contract workflows, ensuring contracts progress efficiently through intake, review, negotiation, and execution.
Partner with Procurement and Finance to ensure alignment between contracts, purchase requisitions, and payment terms, and to support accurate downstream processing.
Serve as a primary point of contact for business users, providing guidance on contract intake, process requirements, and status updates.
Support and train end users in contracting processes and CLM tools, improving submission quality, reducing rework, and enabling more efficient contract execution.
Coordinate execution of agreements, including routing for signature, maintaining accurate records in the system of record, and facilitating distribution of fully executed documents.
Perform special tasks and assignments as required by management.