Associate Counsel – Legal & Contracts

Description

Job Summary: The Associate Counsel – Legal & Contracts supports OKSI’s in-house legal function across contracts, compliance, export control, and general corporate matters. The role drafts, reviews, and negotiates commercial and government agreements, provides practical legal guidance to internal teams, and assists with contract templates, playbooks, and process improvements. Working under the general direction of the VP of Operations and in partnership with counsel, the Contracts Administrator, and business leaders, this role serves as a primary point of contact for day-to-day contracting issues and escalates higher risk matters as needed.

Job Duties:

• Contract & NDA Drafting, Review, and Negotiation: Draft, review, and negotiate customer, vendor, and subcontract agreements, NDAs, licensing and services agreements, and related documents. Analyze and negotiate key provisions (e.g., indemnity, limitations of liability, IP and data rights, confidentiality, export control, cybersecurity, insurance, compliance obligations) to align with company risk tolerances and business objectives. Prepare and maintain contract summaries, key-terms matrices, and obligation/risk trackers for use by project teams and management..
• Legal Counseling & Issue Spotting: Provide clear, practical legal guidance to internal stakeholders on contract terms, risk allocation, and related legal issues, under the supervision of senior counsel as appropriate. Identify and explain legal risks and options, propose solutions, and assist business teams in evaluating tradeoffs. Apply established playbooks and policies to new fact patterns and help refine those playbooks based on emerging issues. Collaboration with Contracts Administrator and Legal Staff Work closely with the Contracts Administrator, who leads intake, logging, routing, and lifecycle tracking of contracts and subcontracts. Ensure that legal reviews are scoped appropriately and that necessary information is collected up front. Provide guidance and training to the Contracts Administrator and any paralegal/legal support staff on issue spotting, escalation criteria, and use of templates and clause libraries.
• Government Contracts & Export Control Support: Support compliance with applicable government contracting requirements (e.g., FAR/DFARS flow downs, representations and certifications, procurement integrity, small business and socio-economic requirements) under the direction of senior counsel and relevant functional leaders. Assist with drafting and reviewing subcontract terms to ensure appropriate flow down and allocation of risk. Work with export control/compliance personnel to review and implement export control terms (ITAR/EAR), restricted-party screening requirements, and related provisions in contracts, and assist with maintaining related documentation.
• Legal Research, Policies, and Training: Conduct legal and regulatory research on statutes, regulations, agency guidance, and industry standards; prepare concise research memoranda with analysis and recommendations. Assist in drafting and updating company policies, procedures, standard forms, and contract playbooks related to contracts, compliance, export control, data security, and other areas as assigned. Help develop and deliver training materials and presentations to internal stakeholders on contract processes, key legal concepts, and risk management practices.
• Dispute and Claims Support: Assist with the evaluation and resolution of contract disputes, claims, and potential litigation, including reviewing correspondence, notices, and factual records. Draft and review demand letters, responses, reservation-of-rights letters, and other pre-dispute communications, under the direction of senior counsel.
• Issue Tracking & Deadlines: Help maintain trackers for key contractual and legal deadlines (options, renewals, deliverables, regulatory dates) and ensure appropriate follow-up by responsible owners. Support coordination and prioritization of legal work to meet business timelines.
• Document & Knowledge Management: Maintain organized digital files for contracts, legal matters, and export/compliance documentation consistent with company and regulatory requirements. Contribute to the creation and maintenance of clause libraries, templates, checklists, and other knowledge management tools.
• Other Duties: Perform other tasks as assigned to support legal, contract, export control, and compliance operations.

Requirements

• Strong understanding of contract law and comfort working with complex contractual and regulatory language.
• Excellent legal writing, editing, and drafting skills, with the ability to produce clear and well-structured agreements, memoranda, and correspondence.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct legal research and synthesize findings into concise, actionable advice.
• Ability to analyze legal and business risks, explain them in plain language, and propose practical solutions and alternatives.
• High attention to detail and accuracy when reviewing terms, definitions, cross-references, exhibits, and other contractual elements.
• Strong organizational skills; able to manage multiple matters, deadlines, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.
• Effective communicator who is comfortable working directly with business leaders, engineers, program managers, and external parties.
• Sound judgment, integrity, and ability to handle confidential and sensitive information appropriately.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook); familiarity with or willingness to learn contract management, e-signature, and document management tools.
• Comfortable working both independently and as part of a small, collaborative team, with regular communication to supervisors and stakeholders.

Education: 

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school required.

Licensure:

• Active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar required.
• Eligibility to be admitted or registered as in-house counsel in relevant jurisdictions (e.g., California and/or Florida) preferred.

Experience:

• Required: Approximately 1–3+ years of relevant legal experience, which may include law firm, in-house, government, or clerkship experience with a significant component of contract drafting/review, commercial transactions, government contracting, or related work.
• Preferred: Prior in-house or government contractor experience supporting contracts, compliance, or export control issues. Familiarity with FAR/DFARS, government contract flow downs, and basic export control concepts (ITAR/EAR). Experience in aerospace, defense, or high-technology industries.

Additional Requirements:

• You must have, or be eligible to obtain, a U.S. Department of Defense Secret security clearance. You will be subject to government security investigations and must be able to access classified information. The inability to obtain a security clearance will result in you being ineligible for the position.
• Must be authorized to work in the United States.