Contract Specialist

Kistler Instrument Corp.•Novi, MI

About The Position

The Contract Specialist, North America, supports legal and non-financial compliance across Kistler. The role coordinates legal requests from customers, including contracts and NDAs, with internal stakeholders across Sales, Quality, Engineering, Finance, HR, ICT (Cyber Security), and HS&E. It provides legal guidance, oversees the full contract lifecycle, and helps ensure compliance with legal, safety, and quality standards in North America. The specialist partners with Sales, Engineering, and Operations, interfaces with external lawyers and consultants, and works closely with the Legal Corporate Group to minimize legal risks and support employee integrity and compliance. The role serves as Kistler North America’s primary legal and compliance contact. It drafts, reviews, negotiates, and manages legal documents; maintains contract systems and records; advises teams on legal and regulatory matters; oversees contract obligations and milestones; and supports legal risk reviews, audits, investigations, and issue resolution. It also supports local ISO quality activities and facility safety compliance at the Novi, Michigan site, including OSHA/MiOSHA-aligned procedures, surveys, walkthroughs, documentation, and corrective actions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Law, Business, or a related field.
At least 3 years of progressive experience in contract drafting/negotiation and compliance.
Legal background in the US and economics.
Demonstrated success coordinating cross-functional teams and influencing without authority.
Proficiency with contract lifecycle management (CLM) or document-management software.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate legal nuance into operational language.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree.
DFARS and ITAR experience.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary legal and compliance contact for Kistler North America.
Draft, review, negotiate, and manage customer agreements, NDAs, legal entity addendums, compliance agreements, procurement and vendor contracts, third-party contracts, partnership agreements, and policy documentation.
Maintain the contract database and Legal AI Contract Review System.
Interpret legal and regulatory language and advise internal teams on risk mitigation, corporate governance, and applicable laws.
Own contract lifecycle management, including accurate recording and tracking of contracts and management of obligations, renewals, close-outs, and risk milestones.
Maintain clause libraries and deviation logs, and escalate critical legal or compliance risks to stakeholders and corporate leadership.
Conduct quarterly legal risk reviews and support non-financial audits, investigations, and internal issue resolution.
Monitor regional regulatory and compliance trends and provide advisory support to leadership.
Represent North America in Kistler Group legal, compliance, and contract initiatives.
Coordinate with Global Legal and external lawyers and consultants.
Maintain and renew business licenses in coordination with relevant departments.
Support government surveys for North American entities in New York, California, Michigan, and Canada.
Support local quality meetings in Novi, Michigan, in alignment with ISO standards.
Serve as the Novi site safety compliance lead and align procedures with OSHA and MiOSHA requirements.
Complete annual HSE surveys.
Conduct quarterly facility walkthroughs and toolbox talks.
Maintain OSHA/MiOSHA-aligned documentation and drive corrective actions as needed.
Ensure contractor safety agreements and on-site visitor protocols are documented, communicated, and enforced.