Contracts Manager

Scale; Santa Monica (CA); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Paid vacation

401K matching

Job summary

Scale is seeking a Commercial Contracts Manager to drive the full lifecycle of commercial agreements, from customer negotiations through execution and ongoing compliance. You will structure deals, manage templates, and provide due diligence for acquisitions while coordinating with BD and PM teams from our US offices in Ridgewood, NYC, and Santa Monica.

You will report to the Senior Contracts Manager and play a key role in standardizing contracts and enabling scalable growth in a fast-paced,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; 3+ years of relevant experience.
• Legal training or paralegal/JD background is a plus, but we’re looking for someone whose primary orientation is commercial rather than legal.
• Demonstrated success leading customer-facing negotiations and managing projects successfully and on time.
• Strong deal-structuring instincts — comfortable shaping and proposing commercial terms, not just reviewing them.
• Experience with power purchase agreements, energy services agreements, leases, or similar commercial agreements in distributed energy, real estate, or a related industry preferred.
• Strong contract drafting acumen.
• Detail- and process-oriented, with a history of building or improving contract and deal-management workflows, balancing speed and agility with internal controls and risk management.
• Preference for individuals with experience performing or managing buy-side diligence activities.
• Experience preparing power purchase agreements, energy services agreements, M&A transaction agreements, or similar agreements within the distributed energy industry preferred.
• Self-driven, entrepreneurial in nature; willing to step outside of role where needed to support the company’s needs; thrives in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a customer-facing lead on commercial negotiations based on our playbooks, structuring deal terms that balance customer needs with our commercial and risk objectives.
• Manage the end-to-end contracting process from initial deal structuring through negotiation, redlines, signature, and post-execution administration while keeping deals on schedule.
• Manage standard form agreements and continually propose and incorporate feedback to improve standard templates and risk allocations.
• Support the commercialization and standardization of new products.
• Prepare standard form and customized agreements for customers, partners, and vendors as needed to support day-to-day operations.
• Analyze third-party paper against our standard commercial positions to identify and resolve material commercial inconsistencies.
• Exercise sound judgment about when to resolve an issue directly and when to incorporate their input as appropriate.
• Build working familiarity with project cost models and deal economics to negotiate scope, milestones, and risk allocation knowledgeably.
• Manage our contracts database, including monitoring existing agreements for conformance with budget, deadlines, performance obligations, customer service, and renewal/expiration dates.
• Support our project management and business development teams in clearing conditions to our obligations and complying with the terms of our agreements.
• Manage the signature collection process and timely satisfaction of any approvals or conditions precedent.
• Ensure company-wide compliance with Scale’s internal approval processes.
• Manage the legal and regulatory diligence process for purchasing, selling, and/or financing of distributed energy projects and portfolios

Skills

Commercial negotiations

Project management

Contract drafting

Deal structuring

Due diligence

Relationship management

Financial acumen

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

The Role

We’re looking for a commercial Contracts Manager to manage deals through their full life cycle, from customer-facing negotiation through contract execution and ongoing compliance. You will structure and negotiate commercial agreements based on our established corporate standards, project manage the contracting process alongside our business development and project management teams, and serve as a relationship-savvy point of contact for customers and partners. You will also provide hands-on due diligence support for our acquisition activities.

You will report to our Senior Contracts Manager and work a hybrid schedule from our HQ in Ridgewood, NJ, our NYC office near Union Square, or our Santa Monica Office.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Serve as a customer-facing lead on commercial negotiations based on our playbooks, structuring deal terms that balance customer needs with our commercial and risk objectives;
• Manage the end-to-end contracting process from initial deal structuring through negotiation, redlines, signature, and post-execution administration while keeping deals on schedule;
• Manage standard form agreements and continually propose and incorporate feedback to improve standard templates and risk allocations;
• Support the commercialization and standardization of new products;
• Prepare standard form and customized agreements for customers, partners, and vendors as needed to support day-to-day operations;
• Analyze third-party paper against our standard commercial positions to identify and resolve material commercial inconsistencies;
• Exercise sound judgment about when to resolve an issue directly and when to incorporate their input as appropriate;
• Build working familiarity with project cost models and deal economics to negotiate scope, milestones, and risk allocation knowledgeably;
• Manage our contracts database, including monitoring existing agreements for conformance with budget, deadlines, performance obligations, customer service, and renewal/expiration dates;
• Support our project management and business development teams in clearing conditions to our obligations and complying with the terms of our agreements;
• Manage the signature collection process and timely satisfaction of any approvals or conditions precedent;
• Ensure company-wide compliance with Scale’s internal approval processes;
• Manage the legal and regulatory diligence process for purchasing, selling, and/or financing of distributed energy projects and portfolios

The Ideal Candidate

• Bachelor’s degree required; 3+ years of relevant experience. Legal training or a paralegal/JD background is a plus, but we’re looking for someone whose primary orientation is commercial rather than legal;
• Demonstrated success leading customer-facing negotiations and managing projects successfully and on time;
• Strong deal-structuring instincts — comfortable shaping and proposing commercial terms, not just reviewing them;
• Quick study with numbers; able to get up to speed on cost models and deal economics without a finance background;
• Experience with power purchase agreements, energy services agreements, leases, or similar commercial agreements in distributed energy, real estate, or a related industry preferred;
• Strong contract drafting acumen;
• Detail- and process-oriented, with a history of building or improving contract and deal-management workflows, balancing speed and agility with internal controls and risk management;
• Preference for individuals with experience performing or managing buy-side diligence activities;
• Experience preparing power purchase agreements, energy services agreements, M&A transaction agreements, or similar agreements within the distributed energy industry preferred;
• Self-driven, entrepreneurial in nature; willing to step outside of role where needed to support the company’s needs; thrives in a fast-paced environment;

This is a great opportunity to have a long-term impact on a fast-paced, private equity-backed growth business. Some of the core virtues embraced by Scales’ employees include:

• Do the Right Thing
• Act Like an Owner
• Hustle
• Demand Results
• Go Together
• Evolve or Disappear

We offer a competitive compensation package and a comprehensive benefits program including medical benefits, paid vacation and holidays, and 401K matching.

About Scale Microgrids

Scale is redefining resilience, with advanced microgrids that go beyond traditional backup power solutions to give businesses the power to adapt and thrive amid all of today’s growing energy challenges. As a vertically-integrated provider of turnkey advanced microgrid systems, Scale combines project design, engineering, and execution expertise with microgrid-as-a-service financing to offer our customers systems that are optimized to deliver maximum value from day one while ensuring ultra-reliable operations and fast time-to-power.

Scale is backed by EQT, a firm with :$250B in assets, bringing a depth of experience, resources, and capital that will enable Scale to continue pursuing our vision of powering the world with distributed energy. The investment enables Scale to own and operate billions of dollars in distributed generation assets. To learn more about Scale Microgrids, please visit https://www.scalemicrogrids.com.

About EQT

EQT is a leading purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 246 billion in total assets under management, divided into two business segments: Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence, and market leadership. To learn more about EQT, please visit https://eqtgroup.com.

Scale strives to attract and retain a workforce that reflects the composition of our customer base and communities. We are committed to providing a work environment that provides everyone with equal access and opportunity to contribute and drive meaningful outcomes. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply and will consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.