Aerospace Contracts Manager: Elite & Clearance-Ready

AV; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 101,000 - 154,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Paid holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. in the United States is seeking a Contracts Manager to lead bid, negotiation, and contract administration for complex aerospace programs.

You will partner with legal, finance, procurement, and engineering to optimize contract workflows and manage lifecycle performance. The role emphasizes drafting and negotiating various agreements, ensuring compliance with FAR/DFAR, and coordinating audits with DCMA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Minimum of 6-8 years' experience performing duties and responsibilities in an aerospace/defense/government contracting environment.
• Presently hold a U.S. Security Clearance (Secret is the minimum, a Top Secret is preferred).
• Current expertise in Federal and International regulations, and relevant legal concepts.
• Significant experience in directly related International and DoD/Federal prime government contract administration/management.
• Demonstrates the ability to work autonomously while exercising sound judgment in seeking support and proactively elevating risks and issues.
• Entrepreneurial focus and ability to thrive and excel in a dynamic and technically focused environment.
• Demonstrated business acumen with experience in developing innovative solutions and a successful record of problem solving.
• An ability to translate between business and technical risk and communicate clearly to leadership.
• Proven Contract Drafting and Negotiation skills.
• FAR/DFAR knowledge; OTA knowledge, working knowledge of US Government acquisition laws and regulations.
• Broad experience with a variety of contract types: firm fixed price, cost-type, commercial/non-commercial, production, development, and sustainment.
• Broad experience with license, non-disclosure and teaming agreements.
• Demonstrated applied knowledge with the requirements of Truthful Cost or Pricing Data (ie FAR Part 15).
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (written, verbal, and presentation).
• Demonstrated capability working successfully in a collaborative environment that inspires confidence in co-workers and customers.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with Operations, the Contracts team and other functions including Sales, Strategy and Marketing, Finance, and the Legal team on bid and proposal preparation, contract negotiation, contract review and administration for new and sustaining products and services.
• Perform contract management and administrative duties throughout the contract lifecycle including, but not limited to, proposal review and preparation, leading pre and post award negotiations, executing contract modifications, initiating contract close-outs and providing overall contracts support to programs with complex, multi-year contracts.
• Responsible for drafting, evaluating, negotiating various agreements such as, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Sales/Purchase Agreements, Subcontracts, Consulting Agreements, License Agreements, Master Agreements, and other Contractual agreements, such as FAR based contracts, OTAs, etc.
• Responsible for ensuring that agreements/terms and conditions comply with all applicable regulations and requirements, while also adhering to company policies.
• Manage and monitor the performance of long-term contracts and agreements. Analyze and concisely summarize contractual obligations, commitments, and performance for internal stakeholders. Analyze the impact of modifications and revisions to contract terms and prepare recommendations and risk reviews for management.
• Coordinate flow-downs of terms and conditions with all functional departments including program management, engineering, product support, finance, quality, supply chain management, manufacturing, as required.
• Liaison with Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) and other audit agencies. Additionally, may lead audits both internal and external to the company.
• Oversee maintenance of accurate files for each contract which will include original contract, all correspondences, changes/deviations, modifications/amendments, clarifications, etc.
• Review uploaded contracts related data in business systems to ensure data is accurate and complete.
• Oversee maintenance and retrieval of contract documents/files and validated data, preparation of reports and participation in status reviews.
• Other duties, as assigned.

Skills

Contract management

Negotiation

Regulatory compliance

Autonomy

Risk assessment

Communication

Collaboration

Problem solving

Business acumen

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Proposal/ bid support

Steady under pressure

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field

6-8 years aerospace/defense/government contracting experience

U.S. Security Clearance (Secret minimum, Top Secret preferred)

Advanced Degree (preferred)

Job description

AeroVironment, Inc. in the United States is seeking a Contracts Manager to lead bid, negotiation, and contract administration for complex aerospace programs.

You will partner with legal, finance, procurement, and engineering to optimize contract workflows and manage lifecycle performance. The role emphasizes drafting and negotiating various agreements, ensuring compliance with FAR/DFAR, and coordinating audits with DCMA.