Legal Counsel

TerraFirma; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

TerraFirma in Austin is seeking its first dedicated legal hire to support contracts, compliance, and day-to-day legal questions as the hardware startup scales.

You will work closely with leadership and outside counsel on commercial contracts, employment compliance, governance, and government contracting, helping put scalable processes and playbooks in place to enable rapid growth.

Qualifications

• J.D. and active bar membership in good standing.
• 4–8 years of relevant legal experience in tech, construction, hardware, or manufacturing.
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills.
• Ability to work independently with limited oversight.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts including vendor, customer, and construction-related agreements.
• Support compliance with employment laws, safety regulations, and other industry requirements.
• Advise on corporate matters including equity, fundraising documents, and governance.
• Coordinate with outside counsel on litigation, IP, regulatory, and government contracting matters.
• Help establish legal processes, templates, and playbooks as the company scales.
• Assist sales and BD teams on contract review and negotiation.
• Provide practical, business-minded legal guidance to leadership and teams.

Skills

J.D. & Bar

Contract drafting

Negotiation

Independent work

Education

J.D. and bar membership

Tools

Regulatory compliance

Government contracting

Job description

At TerraFirma, we’re redefining how the world moves earth for construction. Founded by former SpaceX engineers and backed by Kleiner Perkins and Bain Capital Ventures, TerraFirma is automating construction to make it faster, cheaper, and safer.

Our Story & Mission

At SpaceX, we were part of the teams that built the largest rocket in human history, launched the largest constellation of satellites ever made, and delivered connectivity to millions of people worldwide. What we learned was simple: infrastructure is everything.

At Starbase, the biggest barrier to launching missions to Mars was not building the rocket. It was how slow, expensive, and complex it was to build the infrastructure around it. We lacked buildings, roads, water, power, communications, and waste management, and constructing them took far more time and resources than it should have.

From a first-principles perspective, that doesn't make sense. It shouldn't be this hard or costly to create the foundations for progress. That’s when we realized something important: the same engineering mindset that enabled us to tackle space exploration and mass manufacturing could be applied to infrastructure. By bringing the principles of simplification, iteration, acceleration, and automation to construction, we can unlock a new era in how the world builds.

Accelerating infrastructure unlocks progress across every domain, creating a self-sustaining engine for tackling humanity’s toughest challenges. The innovations we develop on Earth will lay the groundwork for the technologies that one day make settlement on Mars possible.

Job Overview

You will be TerraFirma's first dedicated legal hire, supporting the company across the range of legal needs that come with building hardware, running construction projects, and scaling a fast-growing startup. You'll work closely with leadership and outside counsel to handle contracts, compliance, and day-to-day legal questions, helping put the right practices in place as the company grows.

Responsibilities

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of commercial contracts, including vendor agreements, customer contracts, and construction-related agreements
• Support compliance with employment law, safety regulations, and other requirements relevant to a hardware and construction company
• Advise on corporate matters including equity, fundraising documentation, and general corporate governance
• Manage and coordinate with outside counsel on specialized matters (litigation, IP, regulatory, government contracting) as needed
• Help establish and improve legal processes, templates, and playbooks as the company scales
• Support the sales and business development teams on customer and government contract review and negotiation
• Provide practical, business-minded legal guidance to leadership and teams across the company

Basic Qualifications

• J.D. and active bar membership in good standing
• 4-8 years of relevant legal experience, including in-house or law firm experience supporting a technology, construction, hardware, or manufacturing company
• Strong contract drafting and negotiation skills
• Ability to work independently and make sound, practical judgment calls with limited oversight

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Experience in-house at a startup or fast-growing company
• Experience with government contracting, construction law, or regulatory matters relevant to hardware/construction companies
• Familiarity with corporate/equity matters and working alongside outside counsel on fundraising
• Comfortable being the first or an early legal hire, building process rather than just following it

Additional Requirements

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced startup environment
• Must be willing to relocate to Austin, TX if not within commuting distance
• Must be willing to work extended hours when needed to support critical business needs