Staff Counsel / Corporate Counsel (Negotiation Lead)

CEG Solutions•Arlington, VA

5d•$130,000 - $170,000•Remote

About The Position

CEG Solutions LLC is a leading national Energy Service Company (ESCO) delivering transformative sustainability and infrastructure projects. Originating as a general contractor, we pair deep construction expertise with rigorous data analysis to provide turnkey, design-build energy and water efficiency solutions at no upfront cost to our clients. With over $1 billion in projects awarded or in development, we partner with federal, state, and local governments, as well as healthcare and education sectors, to modernize complex facilities. Following our recent 2025 merger with Iconergy, we continue to expand our mission to improve the built environment through innovation, technical excellence, and guaranteed results. CEG is seeking an in-house attorney to serve as a practical legal resource to the business. This includes (1) owning contract intake, legal review, redlines, internal alignment, approvals, and signature, (2) leading negotiations and driving execution across our portfolio, including prime contracts, subcontracts, vendor agreements, and proposal/RFP terms, and (3) providing general business legal support across the company (day-to-day legal guidance, issue-spotting, and coordination with outside counsel as appropriate). You are a pragmatic, firm negotiator who can protect CEG’s non-negotiables, reduce unnecessary customization, and craft smart compromises when exceptions are required. You’ll provide legal guidance on risk allocation, compliance, and contract interpretation, and partner closely with sales/business development, project development, construction, consulting, finance, risk/insurance, and senior leadership (coordinating with outside counsel as needed) to move agreements to signature quickly without compromising risk posture.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school required.
Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (in good standing) required.
5–10+ years of relevant legal experience (in-house and/or law firm), including commercial and government contracting and negotiation in construction, energy services, energy consulting, etc.
Proven track record leading negotiations (not just processing paperwork) and driving contracts to signature.
Strong command of core contract clauses, including indemnity, insurance, limitation of liability, warranties, dispute resolution, termination, payment, schedule/LDs, flow-downs, and change management.
Strong judgement and the ability to set negotiation strategy, hold firm on critical terms, and align stakeholders on smart compromises when needed.
Exceptional written communication, redline discipline, and ability to synthesize complex risk into clear recommendations.
Highly organized and comfortable building and maintaining contract trackers, dashboards, and contracting workflows.
Demonstrated ability to balance AI tools for speed while validating accuracy and applying independent judgement.

Nice To Haves

Experience in construction environments, government contracting, and/or contract flow-downs.
ESCO experience and finance experience are desirable.
Familiarity with bonding/surety concepts and risk/insurance coordination.
Familiarity with common IP/data-rights expectations in analytics engagements
Experience partnering with outside counsel and managing expectation approvals in a fast-moving environment.

Responsibilities

Review third-party contracts, including prime agreements, RFPs/solicitation terms, subcontracts, purchase orders, professional services agreements, consulting agreements, and change order/amendments.
Identify and clearly communicate legal, financial, schedule, and operational risks. Propose specific, actionable redlines aligned to CEG’s risk framework.
Lead counterparties through contract language and risk allocation (scope, payment, schedule, change management, flow-downs, warranties, insurance, etc.).
Hold the line on CEG’s critical terms and escalate exceptions through a defined approval process with clear options and recommendations.
Provide clean redlines, track open issues, document rationale, and drive negotiations to closure with urgency and discipline.
Ensure all approved redlines are correctly reflected in the final execution copies and attachments/exhibits.
Review prime contract requirements and ensure subcontract and vendor agreements appropriately flow down applicable obligations and protections.
Manage internal flow-down and contract compliance by translating prime contract obligations into clear requirements for project teams, tracking material contractual obligations, and supporting compliance with notice, reporting, insurance, bonding, schedule, and other contract requirements throughout project delivery.
Support proposal/RFP responses by reviewing T&Cs, developing exceptions/clarifications, and aligning commercial positions with pricing, schedule, and delivery assumptions.
Partner with project leadership to ensure contract commitments are understood and operationally executable (e.g., notice requirements, schedule/LD exposure, acceptance criteria, reporting obligations).
Own the “contracts out for execution” pipeline. Remove blockers, chase open items, and maintain momentum to signature.
Maintain a real-time contract log that captures status, parties, project, values, key clauses, insurance/bonding, flow-downs, critical dates, renewal/termination terms, and special obligations.
Publish and enforce a repeatable contracting workflow (intake, review, approvals, signature, storage) so teams know when legal review is required and what terms can be accepted under pre-approved guidance.
Coordinate internal reviews and approvals (project team, operations, finance, risk/insurance, leadership, and outside counsel when needed).
Ensure executed agreements are stored in a centralized, searchable repository with appropriate access and version control. In addition, ensure signed agreements are stored in the appropriate project folder.
Develop/maintain a negotiation playbook and internal guidance documents, including fallback positions, clause library, approved alternates, escalation thresholds, and delegated approval/signature authority coordination.
Validate and negotiate key terms including: indemnity, insurance, limitation of liability, warranty, dispute resolution, termination, liquidated damages/schedule, payment terms, performance guarantees, bonding/surety, confidentiality, and IP/data/security provisions as applicable.
Negotiate and validate intellectual property (IP) and data rights provisions, especially for Monitoring Based Commissioning deliverables, including ownership, licensing, reuse rights, confidentiality, and data security requirements.
Identify recurring problem clauses and drive template and process improvements to reduce friction and accelerate execution.
Ensure agreements adhere to applicable local, state, and federal requirements and relevant industry standards.
Create and maintain internal guidance documents (negotiation playbook, clause library, and approval/escalation matrix) defining: (i) standard positions and allowable alternates; (ii) what can be accepted without additional approval; and (iii) what changes require escalation and documented authorization.
Provide day-to-day legal support on broader business matters, as needed (e.g., corporate governance, employment-related issues spotting in partnership with HR, vendor disputes, compliance/ethics questions, etc.).
Maintain a simple intake/triage process for legal requests; prioritize issues, track status, and communicate clear guidance and next steps to stakeholders.
Advise internal stakeholders on legal risk, contract interpretation, and negotiation strategy across prime, subcontract, vendor, and consulting engagements.
Manage contract and subcontract disputes, claims, and formal notice strategy in coordination with project leadership, including contract interpretation, preservation of rights, response strategy, and resolution planning.
Develop and maintain internal contracting policies, playbooks, and approval thresholds; train stakeholders on standard positions, escalation triggers, and contracting hygiene.
Help protect CEG’s intellectual property and confidentiality, including attorney-client privileged communications and appropriate use of sensitive information in negotiation.
Use AI to accelerate first-pass issue spotting, clause comparisons, summarization, and drafting—while independently validating outputs and exercising judgement.
Establish and maintain internal “safe use” guidelines for AI in contract review (confidentiality and privilege controls, verification steps, approved use cases).
Build lightweight automations (e.g., clause extraction, status reporting, redline checklists) that improve speed and consistency without compromising accuracy.