Director, Contracts and Transactions Counsel

Kardigan•Princeton, NJ

6h•Onsite

About The Position

Kardigan is a heart health company dedicated to making cardiovascular disease preventable, curable, and no longer the leading cause of death globally. The company aims to develop multiple targeted treatments in parallel to provide cures for patients with cardiovascular diseases. Founded by Tassos Gianakakos, Jay Edelberg, M.D., Ph.D., and Bob McDowell, Ph.D., who previously led MyoKardia, Kardigan boasts a cutting-edge discovery and translational research platform, a pipeline of late-stage candidates, and an industry-leading team. The company's values include being patient-driven, authentic, eager to learn, committed to winning as a team, and striving to enable the impossible. Kardigan is seeking an experienced Director, Contracts and Transactions Counsel for a strategic legal role. This position will provide comprehensive legal guidance on commercial transactions and contracts management, serving as a key legal advisor to support business leaders in navigating complex commercial relationships and helping the company meet its objectives.

Requirements

JD degree from an accredited law school with admission to practice law.
A minimum of 7 years of legal experience with a mix of leading law firm and in-house experience at innovative pharmaceutical, biotechnology, or medical device companies with a focus on a broad array of transaction related agreements including clinical trial agreements, manufacturing and supply chain agreements.
Expertise in drafting and negotiating complex agreements.
Experience providing legal counsel for managing external business relationships and collaborations, supporting alliance management and potential business development matters.
Key understanding of intellectual property and privacy and data protection laws as they relate to contracts and agreements, and the ability to work closely with internal and external IP counsel.
Knowledge of healthcare, FDA regulations, and other relevant laws applicable to life science business transactions.
Demonstrated ability to connect the dots across functional areas, identifying how legal issues in one domain may impact other business operations.
Strong systems thinking approach to understand complex interdependencies and anticipated downstream effects of legal or business decisions.
Proven track record of translating complex legal concepts into practical business implications.

Responsibilities

Draft, review and negotiate a wide range of agreements, including master services agreements, license agreements, supply agreements, manufacturing agreements, quality agreements, sponsored research agreements, clinical trial agreements, material transfer agreements, and other agreements.
Provide strategic guidance on transaction structure and contract terms to optimize business outcomes while managing legal risk.
Develop and maintain contract templates, playbooks, and standardized contract terms.
Identify and mitigate legal risks in business operations and commercial relationships.
Update and improve contract policies and procedures.
Train business teams on contract policies, procedures, risk management, and other legal practices.
Evaluate and implement legal technology solutions to improve efficiency and effectiveness such as contract lifecycle management system.
Establish metrics and reporting systems to track efficiencies and effectiveness of contracting procedures and other legal practices.
Manage outside legal consultants and counsels for specialized matters and overflow work.
Collaborate with and support business development, research, and other functions to identify and address legal considerations in new business opportunities.
Provide strategic advice and counseling in connection with management of collaborations with collaborators, licensees, and other external partners.
Serve as a legal liaison to the company.