Senior Contract Manager

F5•San Jose, CA

6d•$140,200 - $210,200•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced, proactive, and commercially astute Senior Contract Manager to join our Legal team. In this high-impact role, you will serve as a primary engine for deal execution and commercial contracting. You will take direct, end-to-end ownership of drafting, redlining, and negotiating complex commercial transactions with a particular focus on SaaS, cloud software, and technology agreements. Cloud and SaaS transactions take priority, with other commercial matters supported as capacity allows. This position operates as a trusted business partner across Sales, Procurement, Finance, Product, Information Security, and Legal leadership. Beyond day-to-day deal velocity, you will help build scalable contracting operations, leveraging contract playbooks, modern Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) tools, and emerging AI-powered legal technology to drive continuous efficiency. If you are a seasoned contracts professional who excels at autonomous negotiations, understands the nuances of enterprise SaaS agreements, and thrives in a fast-paced technology environment, we want to hear from you.

Requirements

7+ years of dedicated contract management or commercial transactions experience, with a significant portion spent within a fast-paced technology company.
Demonstrated, hands-on track record of independently drafting, redlining, and negotiating high-value commercial agreements from inception to execution, including the ability to work F5's standard positions into counterparty paper surgically, without wholesale deletion of the counterparty's sections.
In-depth knowledge of enterprise SaaS business models, licensing mechanics, service level agreements (SLAs), and working knowledge of data security schedules and data privacy principles (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA).
Proven ability to lead negotiations with sophistication, balancing legal protection with business velocity and relationship-building.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain nuanced legal concepts clearly and concisely to non-legal business stakeholders. Highly organized, detail-oriented, and self-directed, with strong interpersonal skills and a collaborative, team-oriented approach.
Bachelor’s degree, a professional certification such as Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM) or Certified Commercial Contracts Manager (CCCM), a paralegal certificate, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting a global enterprise technology company managing high-volume inbound and outbound commercial transactions.
Proven track record designing or scaling standard contract playbooks, clause fallback matrices, and automated approval workflows.
Familiarity with AI-assisted contract review and analytics platforms.
Experience navigating cross-border transactions and international contracting nuances.

Responsibilities

Take hands-on responsibility for drafting, reviewing, and redlining a wide range of commercial agreements, including SaaS master subscription agreements (MSAs), cloud service agreements, Statements of Work (SOWs), data processing agreements (DPAs), nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), professional services agreements, security exhibits, reseller and channel agreements, and vendor/procurement contracts, all with high-level direction and minimal supervision.
Negotiate routine-to-complex legal and commercial terms, utilizing approved playbooks, fallback positions, and escalation frameworks.
Confidently analyze, redline, and negotiate on customer or vendor paper, identifying departures from company risk tolerance and proposing pragmatic compromise language. On complex enterprise deals, you will own the first-pass review of incoming customer paper against F5's standard positions and approved fallbacks, relying on the supporting attorney for final positions on novel or high-risk issues.
Exercise sound independent judgment to evaluate contractual and business risks, escalating unique IP, compliance, regulatory, or liability issues to legal counsel when appropriate. You will negotiate both independently and alongside supporting attorneys, and will report to the Director, Commercial Legal (Cloud & SaaS).
Partner closely with Sales, Customer Success, Procurement, Finance, Revenue Operations, and Information Security to ensure smooth deal execution and alignment with business objectives.
Triage incoming contract requests, manage prioritization against quarter-end deadlines, and ensure rapid, predictable turnaround times.
Act as an accessible, trusted advisor to internal stakeholders on contracting terms, policies, approval workflows, and risk mitigation strategies.
Author, refine, and maintain contracting playbooks, standard templates, fallback clause libraries, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Oversee the contract lifecycle within our CLM platform, ensuring data accuracy, automated workflow compliance, and streamlined signature routing.
Track key contracting metrics, including contract turnaround times, negotiation cycle lengths, clause exception trends, and volume, to deliver actionable insights for continuous operational improvement.
Identify and champion opportunities to integrate AI-driven contract review, automated workflows, and self-service contracting mechanisms.
Develop and deliver interactive training sessions and self-serve resources for commercial and business teams to foster contracting literacy across the organization.