Senior Corporate & Contracts Paralegal

Zeno Power•Washington, DC

4d•$110,000 - $135,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Zeno Power is seeking a detail‑oriented, proactive Senior Corporate & Contracts Paralegal to support the Legal team in our Washington, DC office. This role will work closely with the Chief Regulatory and Legal Officer, counterparties, and inside and outside counsel to manage a broad range of corporate and contracts matters as Zeno scales through its next phase of growth as a commercial and national security supplier of radioisotope power systems. The ideal candidate is highly organized, comfortable managing competing priorities in a fast-moving environment, and eager to build infrastructure, process, and deep subject-matter fluency across corporate governance, day-to-day contract operations (especially NDAs and standard services agreements), commercial and government contracts, and other key corporate needs in an exciting and complex field.

Requirements

6+ years of paralegal experience, ideally a large portion of which is in-house supporting corporate and transactional work; including experience with government contractors, aerospace/defense, and/or other regulated industries.
Experience managing corporate governance documentation and general corporate legal operations.
Experience within high-volume contract intake, including full lifecycle management and tracking.
Strong familiarity developing and implementing contract lifecycle management systems, writing related guidance, and training staff.
Exceptional organizational skills and follow-through, while independently ensuring consistent execution and attention to detail across multiple priorities and deadlines.
Exercises sound judgment and discretion when handling highly confidential and sensitive information, including personnel matters, intellectual property, and investor materials.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, and capable of producing clear, well-organized summaries and documentation while effectively engaging with counterparties.
Comfortable working directly with senior leadership and outside counsel in a lean, fast-paced startup environment
Proficiency with standard legal and productivity tools (e.g., CLMs like Ironclad, Microsoft Office/Google Workspace, Confluence and Jira).
Exposure to government contracting compliance frameworks (e.g., CMMC, FAR/DFARS) and/or export control regimes (ITAR/EAR) is a significant plus.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to government contracting compliance frameworks (e.g., CMMC, FAR/DFARS) and/or export control regimes (ITAR/EAR) is a significant plus.

Responsibilities

Support foundational corporate activities, such as resolutions, consents, cap table documentation, entity minute books, and maintenance of corporate formalities across Zeno's entities
Serve as first-line support for company-wide NDAs and standard services agreements, particularly for the Business Operations, Regulatory, Supply Chain, and other DC-based organizations. This includes including managing requests, first-level negotiation, and ensuring timely execution and filing.
Partner with counsel to maintain and improve contract templates and negotiation playbooks for common agreements (e.g., NDAs, services agreements), and support legal research on related matters.
Assist with transaction-related documentation, such as managing closing checklists and corporate regulatory filings.
Stand up a contracts lifecycle management system (CLM) and create and update contracts management processes and guidance.
Help prepare diligence materials and manage data rooms for fundraising, M&A, or other strategic corporate actions or transactions.
Support export control compliance workstreams (ITAR/EAR), including recordkeeping and coordination with counsel and IT teams on classification and access-control matters.
Assist with IP-related matters, including coordinating with outside counsel on filing actions and managing our patent trackers.
Support employment and litigation matters, including organizing personnel-related legal documentation, litigation holds, and investigation logistics.
Own administrative aspects of the Legal function, including tracking/calendaring key deadlines (POA&Ms, filing dates, contract renewals), maintaining trackers, and flagging upcoming obligations proactively.