Assistant General Counsel

LanzaJet; Deerfield (IL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 215,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

Vacation, Holiday, and Sick Pay

Job summary

LanzaJet, based in Deerfield, Illinois, seeks an Assistant General Counsel to partner with the leadership team. The role involves leading commercial and IP-related legal work across diverse agreements for sustainable fuel projects.

Ideal candidates will have 6-10 years in corporate transactions and be licensed to practice law in Illinois. The company offers a competitive salary between $180K and $215K, along with generous benefits including medical insurance and a retirement plan.

Qualifications

• 6-10 years of in-house legal experience preferred.
• Licensed to practice law preferably in Illinois.
• Experience in energy or renewables, oil & gas operations.

Responsibilities

• Draft and negotiate corporate and commercial agreements.
• Manage contract documentation and approvals.
• Provide counsel on business objectives and compliance.

Skills

Corporate transactions

Contract negotiation

Business acumen

Legal compliance

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in a STEM-related field

Job description

About the Role

We’re looking for a highly motivated, business‑minded Assistant General Counsel. This role will act as a key partner to the General Counsel and leadership team, helping us scale quickly and responsibly as we build and finance sustainable fuel projects.

You’ll take the lead on commercial and IP‑related work across a wide range of agreements, while also stepping into broader legal issues as they arise. This is a hands‑on, high‑impact role for someone who thrives in ambiguity, moves quickly, and enjoys building things from the ground up.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, edit, finalize, and negotiate international and domestic corporate and commercial agreements. Agreements include fuel offtake agreements, feedstock and other supply agreements, master services agreements, joint venture and special purpose vehicle arrangements, confidentiality agreements, licensing and basic engineering design package agreements, consulting agreements and customer agreements.
• Manage contract documentation/approval flows to ensure consistency with internal processes.
• Assist with the development of streamlined, organized, and efficient policies and procedures for contracts and other legal functions.
• Assist with contract challenges, and other disputes, including understanding the issues, providing guidance on solutions, and drafting settlement agreements.
• Provide proactive and pragmatic counsel and guidance for the accomplishment of overall business objectives of the Company, while fully complying with applicable laws and regulations and avoiding unacceptable risks; perform informed cost‑benefit analysis when identifying risks under tight deadlines. This includes supporting and offering improvements to business processes.
• Opportunities to provide support on non‑commercial practice area issues (labor and employment, real estate, tax and customs matters, corporate governance, etc.).
• Proactively develop and maintain technical knowledge in biofuels, remaining up to date on current trends and best practices in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.
• Works autonomously and seeks management input in unusual situations, high complexity issues, and matters that may post some legal, financial, and/or reputational risk to the company.

Requirements

• In‑house legal experience preferred, including supervision of outside counsel.
• At least 6–10 years prior experience in corporate transactions, contracts negotiation, and/or commercial transaction experience preferably with a background in energy or renewables, oil & gas operations, governmental contracting, and/or intellectual property. Candidates with significantly more experience than this minimum are encouraged to apply.
• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM‑related field strongly preferred.
• Committed to our vision, mission and core values and to exercising the highest level of ethics and discretion.
• Business acumen, with the ability to understand the company’s business objectives and anticipate the legal issues that could arise.
• Approaches legal matters with a sense of pragmatism and flexibility to recommend solutions that enable our company’s success while protecting its legacy and future.
• Desire and ability to participate and collaborate in meetings with diverse array of customers, vendors, attorneys, management, and other third parties.
• Drives results and execution: Identifies issues and raises them so that appropriate actions can be taken to resolve problems or improve the client experience; takes personal ownership to follow through on commitments and achieve results with high quality; and demonstrates a strong bias for action and is able to balance priorities to keep plans on track.
• Thinks strategically: Aligns own work with broader business strategies and goals; stays aware of the business implications of the biofuels market and SAF industry trends.
• Must be licensed to practice law preferably in Illinois.
• Legally authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship now and in the future.

Overview of Benefits

• Competitive base salary, bonus, and stock options. Based on experience, the base salary range for this position is $180K to $215K.
• Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance.
• Life Insurance.
• Short‑Term and Long‑Term Disability.
• 401(k) Retirement Plan.
• Vacation, Holiday, and Sick Pay.

This position is open to candidates authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis for any employer. LanzaJet is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate or allow discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, genetic information, registered domestic partner status, marital status, disability, status as a crime victim, protected veteran status, political affiliation, union membership, or any other characteristic protected by law.