Director, Government Contracts Counsel

Coherent Corp.•Sherman, TX

1d•$141,855 - $242,865•Hybrid

About The Position

This role serves as Coherent’s principal internal legal authority for U.S. government and defense contracting. The Director, Government Contracts Counsel will establish and lead Coherent’s enterprise-wide legal strategy for U.S. government and defense contracting. This position will develop a comprehensive framework for identifying, reviewing, approving, and managing government-contract opportunities and obligations across the company. The role will create consistent policies, processes, decision criteria, and escalation protocols for government-contracting activities, and build visibility into existing government contracts and emerging opportunities across Coherent’s business units. The Director will advise executive leadership on significant contractual, regulatory, compliance, and reputational risks associated with government programs and monitor regulatory and enforcement developments to determine their impact on Coherent’s operations and business strategy. This role will also serve as the company’s primary legal counsel on FAR, DFARS, agency supplements, CMMC, and other requirements applicable to federal and defense contracting, providing strategic legal guidance throughout the government-contract lifecycle. The Director will lead legal risk assessments for significant government programs and recommend practical mitigation strategies, draft, review, and negotiate prime contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, nondisclosure agreements, licensing arrangements, and other government-contract-related agreements. Additionally, the role will advise on mandatory and risk-based flow-down requirements, support internal investigations, audits, disclosures, and compliance reviews involving government contracts, and engage with the DoD, Department of State, other federal agencies, prime contractors, and external counsel on significant contractual or regulatory matters. The Director will also provide legal leadership for Coherent’s CMMC readiness and broader government-contract cybersecurity compliance strategy, partnering with IT, cybersecurity, engineering, and business leadership to interpret contractual cybersecurity obligations and establish clear ownership for implementation. This role will advise on DFARS cybersecurity clauses, controlled unclassified information requirements, incident-reporting obligations, and related contractual risks, evaluate cybersecurity and CMMC requirements associated with new opportunities, business arrangements, and acquisitions, and provide executive-level guidance on gaps, remediation priorities, and business risks related to CMMC readiness. The Director will serve as a trusted advisor to business-unit and functional leaders pursuing or performing government-contract work, translating complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for nonlegal stakeholders. The role will facilitate cross-functional decisions where legal requirements, customer expectations, operational needs, and commercial priorities may conflict, build relationships across decentralized business units, and drive adoption of consistent enterprise standards without relying on direct reporting authority. The Director will provide practical, risk-based solutions that protect the company while enabling responsible business growth and develop and deliver targeted training for executives, program teams, engineers, IT and cybersecurity professionals, supply-chain personnel, and other stakeholders. This is a Director-level individual contributor role, and direct reports are not required.

Requirements

Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school required.
Active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar required.
Typically 10 or more years of progressively responsible experience in U.S. government or defense contracting, including meaningful in-house legal or counsel experience.
Significant experience advising on FAR, DFARS, DoD contracting, subcontracting, flow-down requirements, and government-contract compliance.
Demonstrated experience advising on CMMC or government-contract cybersecurity obligations.
Advanced knowledge of U.S. federal procurement law, FAR, DFARS, CMMC, and defense-contracting requirements.
Strong business judgment and ability to distinguish material enterprise risk from lower-level compliance concerns.
Demonstrated ability to operate independently as a senior legal subject-matter expert.
Ability to build an enterprise capability in an environment where processes and governance are still developing.
Executive presence and credibility when advising senior leaders on complex or sensitive matters.
Ability to translate legal and regulatory requirements into practical, plain-English business guidance.
Strong influencing and relationship-building skills across a global, matrixed organization.
Ability to align stakeholders with competing legal, operational, technical, and commercial priorities.
Excellent negotiation, communication, training, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to manage multiple high-priority matters in a fast-paced and evolving regulatory environment.
High degree of integrity, discretion, accountability, and professional judgment.

Nice To Haves

Experience working within a public company, major defense contractor, or similarly complex and highly regulated organization strongly preferred.
Experience establishing or scaling a government-contracting or compliance program across multiple business units preferred.
Experience interacting with federal agencies, prime contractors, subcontractors, and senior executives preferred.

Responsibilities

Establish and lead Coherent’s enterprise-wide legal strategy for U.S. government and defense contracting.
Develop a comprehensive framework for identifying, reviewing, approving, and managing government-contract opportunities and obligations across the company.
Create consistent policies, processes, decision criteria, and escalation protocols for government-contracting activities.
Build visibility into existing government contracts and emerging opportunities across Coherent’s business units.
Advise executive leadership on significant contractual, regulatory, compliance, and reputational risks associated with government programs.
Monitor regulatory and enforcement developments and determine their impact on Coherent’s operations and business strategy.
Serve as the company’s primary legal counsel on FAR, DFARS, agency supplements, CMMC, and other requirements applicable to federal and defense contracting.
Provide strategic legal guidance throughout the government-contract lifecycle, including opportunity assessment, proposal development, negotiation, performance, administration, and closeout.
Lead legal risk assessments for significant government programs and recommend practical mitigation strategies.
Draft, review, and negotiate prime contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, nondisclosure agreements, licensing arrangements, and other government-contract-related agreements.
Advise on mandatory and risk-based flow-down requirements and establish strategies for subcontractor and supplier compliance.
Support internal investigations, audits, disclosures, and compliance reviews involving government contracts.
Engage with the DoD, Department of State, other federal agencies, prime contractors, and external counsel on significant contractual or regulatory matters.
Provide legal leadership for Coherent’s CMMC readiness and broader government-contract cybersecurity compliance strategy.
Partner with IT, cybersecurity, engineering, and business leadership to interpret contractual cybersecurity obligations and establish clear ownership for implementation.
Advise on DFARS cybersecurity clauses, controlled unclassified information requirements, incident-reporting obligations, and related contractual risks.
Evaluate cybersecurity and CMMC requirements associated with new opportunities, business arrangements, and acquisitions.
Provide executive-level guidance on gaps, remediation priorities, and business risks related to CMMC readiness.
Serve as a trusted advisor to business-unit and functional leaders pursuing or performing government-contract work.
Translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for nonlegal stakeholders.
Facilitate cross-functional decisions where legal requirements, customer expectations, operational needs, and commercial priorities may conflict.
Build relationships across decentralized business units and drive adoption of consistent enterprise standards without relying on direct reporting authority.
Provide practical, risk-based solutions that protect the company while enabling responsible business growth.
Develop and deliver targeted training for executives, program teams, engineers, IT and cybersecurity professionals, supply-chain personnel, and other stakeholders.