Contracts Manager and Legal Operations Manager

Muonspace; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Equity compensation

Job summary

Muonspace is looking for an experienced Contracts Manager and Legal Ops Manager based in San Jose, California. This role involves managing both commercial and government contracts, including drafting, risk assessment, and contract administration.

The ideal candidate should have 4+ years of experience in contracts management, strong knowledge of FAR regulations, and the ability to interact with various teams. Benefits include a competitive salary range of $110,000 - $150,000, equity compensation, and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in contracts administration, management, or legal operations.
• Working knowledge of FAR and government contract portals.
• Experience across full contract lifecycle including FFP and OTA agreements.
• Ability to manage a high volume of concurrent actions.

Responsibilities

• Manage day‑to‑day lifecycle of contracts.
• Produce and review various contract types including NDAs and subcontracts.
• Partner with cross‑functional teams during the bid capture process.
• Ensure compliance with government requirements and management of records.

Skills

Contracts administration and management

Government procurement knowledge

Contract drafting

Risk identification and negotiation

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, law, finance, or engineering

Tools

SAM.gov

PIEE

WAWF

Job description

About the role

Muon Space seeks an experienced, detail‑oriented Contracts Manager and Legal Ops Manager to join our growing team. In this role, you manage the day‑to‑day lifecycle of both commercial and government (DoD, IC, and Civil) contracts. You will partner closely with cross‑functional teams—including Growth (business development), Mission Engineering (Program Management), and Supply Chain—to accelerate deal execution, streamline workflows, and proactively mitigate contractual risk. Ideally candidates are hybrid out of San Jose, but open to remote. This is an exceptional opportunity for a mid‑level contracts professional looking to deeply impact the rapidly evolving commercial space and defense sector under direct mentorship.

Responsibilities

• Contract Drafting & Review: Produce and review NDAs, Teaming Agreements, Subcontracts, Consulting Agreements, Vendor Agreements, Modifications, and PO terms & conditions against established playbooks and templates, including accurate flow‑down of prime contract requirements.
• Risk Identification & Escalation: Spot deviations from playbook positions and unfavorable clauses; translate technical and business risks into structured review packages for senior contracts counsel.
• Proposal & Capture Partnership: Partner with Growth through the pre‑award lifecycle; support bid capture and proposal preparation.
• Contract Administration & Customer Interface: Manage post‑award execution, work with Mission Engineering to submit deliverables and CDRLs, coordinate modifications and change requests, and serve as a day‑to‑day point of contact with customer contracting officers and prime counterparts.
• Government Systems Administration: Own Muon's profiles, representations, and certifications in SAM.gov, PIEE, WAWF, and related portals and supplier/subcontractor databases.
• Contract Operations & Records: Anchor day‑to‑day department operations, tracking deadlines, metadata, version control, and an audit‑ready digital filing system across active and legacy files.
• CLM & Process Improvement: Refine Muon's CLM workflows to shorten cycle times and give stakeholders clear pipeline visibility and status.
• Cross‑Functional Partnership: Advise Growth, Mission Engineering, and Supply Chain on contracting terms, process, and timelines.

Qualifications

• Experience: 4+ years in contracts administration, management, or legal operations, with at least 2 recent years at a government defense contractor, intelligence community partner, or aerospace company.
• Government Procurement: Working knowledge of the FAR and its supplements, and fluency in Government contract portals such as SAM.gov, PIEE, WAWF, and supplier/subcontractor portals, including navigation, updates, and reporting.
• Contract Portfolio: Hands‑on across the full lifecycle (pre‑award through closeout) with a mix of FFP, SBIR, commercial/non‑commercial, and OTA agreements.
• Proposal Support: History of partnering with Growth or capture teams to review RFP requirements, flag proposal risk, and meet submittal deadlines.
• Execution Discipline: Experience working from playbooks and templates.
• Organization & Throughput: Experience managing a high volume of concurrent actions in a fast‑paced environment; prioritizes independently, tracks shifting deadlines, and keeps details from slipping.
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communicator who can translate contracting terms for non‑legal teams.
• Work Style: Process‑oriented, deadline‑driven, and comfortable with the broad scope of duties typical of a small team.

Nice‑to‑have Skills

• Active TS security clearance (or eligibility to acquire one).
• Direct experience in the aerospace, space systems, or satellite industry.
• Professional certification such as NCMA Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM).
• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in business, law, finance, or a technical engineering discipline preferred; equivalent experience considered.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $150,000 plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

Benefits

At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full‑time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.