Corporate Counsel (Commercial and Intellectual Property)

Amca•El Segundo, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

This role is for one of the first lawyers at Amca, reporting directly to the General Counsel. The position offers significant ownership of work from the outset, including acquisitions, commercial contracts, export controls, employment questions, intellectual property matters, and equity and debt financings, with the potential for growth into a larger role. While it is a generalist position, it is ideal for someone with IP experience looking to expand their practice. Amca's mission is to restore America's ability to engineer critical systems and components for planes, military vehicles, and infrastructure, revitalizing supply chains and enabling the creation of new systems.

Requirements

JD from an accredited law school.
3+ years of legal experience at a law firm or in-house.
Substantive intellectual property experience.
Active membership in good standing with the bar of at least one U.S. state, with the ability to practice in California.
Demonstrated ability to own matters and reach decisions with limited supervision.
Excellent drafting and negotiation skills, with the ability to explain legal positions to engineers and executives clearly.
Comfort operating in an ambiguous environment with developing processes and procedures.
Must be able to work onsite five days a week in El Segundo, CA.
Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, Green Card holder, or protected person).

Nice To Haves

Aerospace, defense, or hardware manufacturing background.
Experience building or administering a trade secret protection program.
Familiarity with U.S. government technical data and IP rights frameworks.
Mergers and acquisitions experience, particularly intellectual property diligence.
Experience as an early legal hire at a growing company.
Technical or engineering background sufficient to engage substantively with engineering teams.

Responsibilities

Draft, review, and negotiate various business agreements, including customer and supplier contracts, non-disclosure agreements, consulting and advisory agreements, and services agreements.
Manage Amca’s intellectual property portfolio, including trade secret program, confidentiality agreements, invention intake, trademark and copyright strategy, and outside counsel management for filings.
Handle intellectual property transactions such as inbound and outbound licensing, joint development agreements, IP allocation in contracts, and intercompany ownership structures.
Support acquisitions from diligence through closing and integration, including disclosure schedules, ancillary agreements, and post-closing cleanup.
Assist with corporate governance and entity management, including board and stockholder consents, entity maintenance, and equity administration.
Collaborate with the government contracting function on technical data and IP rights, flow-downs, and commercial terms alongside federal requirements.
Contribute to building the legal department by developing contract management systems, templates, playbooks, intake processes, and managing outside counsel.