General Counsel

Tapio; United States; Hybrid; USD 260,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Tapio, a private equity-backed renewable energy company, seeks a General Counsel to lead its legal function and serve as the senior legal partner to the executive team. The role focuses on execution-oriented leadership in renewable energy project finance and complex commercial contracting.

You will oversee outside counsel across financing, construction, corporate matters, and transactional work, while remaining hands-on in high-priority transactions and governance matters.

Qualifications

• Significant legal experience in renewable energy, power, infra or asset-intensive sectors.
• Hands-on project finance experience (financing, tax equity).
• Experience negotiating EPC and major equipment supply contracts.

Responsibilities

• Lead legal execution for utility-scale project financings, including debt and structuring.
• Advise on EPC, equipment supply, construction, and project-related agreements.
• Support tax equity, project financing, acquisitions and dispositions.

Skills

Project finance

Contract negotiation

Legal leadership

Job description

Job Titles: General Counsel

Compensation: Base + Bonus + Long-Term Equity

Location: Northeast U.S. / Hybrid; regular headquarters presence expected

The Company

Our client is a well-capitalized, private equity-backed renewable energy independent power producer developing, financing, constructing, and owning utility-scale clean energy assets across the United States.

Led by an experienced management team with a long track record across utility-scale renewables, the company is entering its next phase of growth as it moves a significant development pipeline toward construction and long-term ownership.

With institutional capital behind the business and an expanding portfolio across solar and energy storage, the company is building out its senior leadership team to support project execution, financing, governance, and future M&A activity.

The Role

The company is seeking a General Counsel to lead its legal function and serve as the senior legal partner to the executive team and ownership group.

This is an execution-oriented role for an attorney with deep experience in renewable energy project finance and complex commercial contracting. The General Counsel will oversee outside counsel across financing, construction, equipment procurement, corporate, and transactional matters while remaining directly involved in the company's highest-priority transactions.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead legal execution for utility-scale renewable energy project financings, including debt and other structured capital transactions
• Advise on and negotiate major EPC, equipment supply, construction, and project-related commercial agreements
• Support tax equity, project-level financing, acquisitions, dispositions, and other strategic transactions
• Manage external counsel across project finance, corporate, commercial, real estate, regulatory, and transactional matters
• Provide practical legal guidance to development, finance, construction, commercial, and executive leadership
• Partner closely with the CFO, COO, CEO, and institutional ownership group on transaction execution
• Oversee corporate governance, board materials, approvals, and other sponsor-related legal requirements
• Establish efficient processes for managing legal work as the operating portfolio and transaction volume grow
• Provide senior leadership and mentorship to the existing internal legal team
• Support PPA and offtake negotiations where appropriate

Candidate Profile

The strongest candidates will bring:

• Significant legal experience within renewable energy, power, infrastructure, or an adjacent asset-intensive sector
• Deep, hands-on project finance experience (Project finance, M&A and/or tax equity)
• Demonstrated experience negotiating EPC agreements, major equipment supply contracts, or similarly complex project contracts
• Experience working within an IPP, renewable energy developer, infrastructure owner/operator, or sponsor-backed portfolio company
• Familiarity with utility-scale solar strongly preferred; storage or wind experience is also relevant
• Experience operating in a private equity-backed environment and interacting with boards or institutional investors is highly valued
• Ability to effectively manage sophisticated outside counsel while remaining hands-on when required
• Commercial judgment and the ability to move transactions forward without over-lawyering the business

This is an opportunity to become the senior legal leader of a growing renewable energy platform at an important point in its transition from development into long-term asset ownership.