Contract Manager

Crane Company • Lynnwood, WA

12d • Onsite

About The Position

Crane Aerospace and Electronics has an exciting opportunity for a Contracts Manager at our Lynnwood, WA location. About Crane: Crane Aerospace & Electronics supplies critical systems and components to the aerospace and defense markets. You’ll find Crane Aerospace & Electronics in some of the toughest environments: from engines to landing gear; from satellites to medical implants and from missiles to unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Located in the epicenter of United States aviation manufacturing, our Crane Aerospace & Electronics Lynnwood, Wash., facility delivers industry-leading aerospace & defense power, sensing and fluid solutions. Our products are rugged enough to fly 5 billion miles from Earth on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft and innovative enough to be featured on Advanced Air Mobility demonstrators. You’ll join a group of aerospace professionals committed to engineering excellence and work in a community tucked between the idyllic Puget Sound and Cascade Mountains. Start the next chapter of your career with Crane Aerospace & Electronics! Job Summary: The Contracts Manager – Modular Power and Intellectual Property (IP) Leader is responsible for managing all customer-facing commercial and government contracts with Crane A&Es Modular Power solution. This role leads the full contract lifecycle with customers, ensuring compliance, mitigating risk, and aligning agreements with business objectives. In addition, the IP Leader portion of the role has Crane A&E enterprise-wide responsibility for managing the complete Crane A&E intellectual property portfolio, including patents, trade secrets, trademarks and related assets. This includes guiding strategy, coordinating with engineering and leadership, and partnering with outside counsel. This position requires strong legal and commercial acumen, the ability to collaborate across functions, and the judgment to balance customer needs, company strategy, regulatory requirements, and IP protection. Contracts Management: Primary responsibility: All customer contracts for Crane A&E’s Modular Power business. Key Responsibilities: Draft, review, and negotiate a full range of customer-facing agreements (e.g., LTAs, product support agreements, NDAs, distributor agreements). Ensure compliance with company policies, FAR/DFARS regulations, and applicable laws. Maintain and manage a centralized repository for Modular Power contracts and support implementation of lifecycle management best practices. Partner with Legal, Finance, Business Development, Program Management, and Engineering to ensure customer contract terms support business, product, and financial objectives. Train internal teams on contract terms, requirements, and risk mitigation strategies. Provide training and guidance on contract terms and risk mitigation strategies to internal teams. Collaborate with Legal, Finance, and Business Development to align contract terms with organizational objectives. Monitor contract performance, obligations, risks, and renewal milestones to minimize exposure and optimize commercial outcomes. Perform any other tasks assigned by supervisor or Crane A&E management, which may include supporting other customer facing contracts negotiations across multiple Crane A&E solutions. Intellectual Property Leadership: Primary responsibility: Full stewardship of the Crane A&E intellectual property portfolio. Key Responsibilities: Lead all aspects of the patent lifecycle: invention disclosures, patentability assessments, filing strategies, prosecution, maintenance, and portfolio pruning. Coordinate with outside counsel and internal stakeholders to protect and leverage IP assets. Maintain IP portfolio database, prepare reports, and track action items. Advise design/engineering teams and leadership on IP considerations for new technologies, licensing opportunities, and competitive risk. Conduct IP audits and risk assessments to identify opportunities and vulnerabilities. Support corporate legal for strategic reporting of IP assets and quarterly IP committee meetings. Perform any other task assigned by supervisor, Crane legal, or Crane A&E management as it relates to IP portfolio and leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Law, or related field; JD or MBA preferred.
• Minimum 5 years in contract management and IP portfolio oversight, preferably in aerospace, defense, or technology sectors.
• Strong customer facing negotiation and conflict resolution skills
• In-depth knowledge of contract law, FAR/DFARS compliance, and IP regulations
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.
• U.S. Person status required due to export-controlled data.
• Strategic thinking and risk management.
• Attention to detail and analytical skills.
• Ability to influence and collaborate across functions.

Nice To Haves

• 8+ years of relevant experience with contract management systems and managing IP portfolios company-wide.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a full range of customer-facing agreements (e.g., LTAs, product support agreements, NDAs, distributor agreements).
• Ensure compliance with company policies, FAR/DFARS regulations, and applicable laws.
• Maintain and manage a centralized repository for Modular Power contracts and support implementation of lifecycle management best practices.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, Business Development, Program Management, and Engineering to ensure customer contract terms support business, product, and financial objectives.
• Train internal teams on contract terms, requirements, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Provide training and guidance on contract terms and risk mitigation strategies to internal teams.
• Collaborate with Legal, Finance, and Business Development to align contract terms with organizational objectives.
• Monitor contract performance, obligations, risks, and renewal milestones to minimize exposure and optimize commercial outcomes.
• Perform any other tasks assigned by supervisor or Crane A&E management, which may include supporting other customer facing contracts negotiations across multiple Crane A&E solutions.
• Lead all aspects of the patent lifecycle: invention disclosures, patentability assessments, filing strategies, prosecution, maintenance, and portfolio pruning.
• Coordinate with outside counsel and internal stakeholders to protect and leverage IP assets.
• Maintain IP portfolio database, prepare reports, and track action items.
• Advise design/engineering teams and leadership on IP considerations for new technologies, licensing opportunities, and competitive risk.
• Conduct IP audits and risk assessments to identify opportunities and vulnerabilities.
• Support corporate legal for strategic reporting of IP assets and quarterly IP committee meetings.
• Perform any other task assigned by supervisor, Crane legal, or Crane A&E management as it relates to IP portfolio and leadership.

Benefits

• Health care, dental, vision, life and disability insurance starting the first day of the month
• 15 days of paid time off that start accruing your first day at Crane and 12 paid holidays per year.
• 401k plan with company match
• Eligible for Education Reimbursement after 6 months of employment

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager