Senior Director, Contracts (USG)

Perimeter; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Perimeter, the global biosecurity infrastructure company, seeks a seasoned U.S. Government contracts leader to manage the full lifecycle of government awards and agreements.

You will negotiate with federal contracting personnel, primes, and partners while advising executive, legal, finance, and program teams on terms, risks, and strategy. The role requires deep FAR/DFARS knowledge, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to translate government requirements into actionable processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of progressively responsible experience managing U.S. Government contracts.
• Expert-level knowledge of the FAR and DFARS and ability to interpret clauses.
• Experience negotiating directly with government personnel, primes, and partners.
• Experience managing federal contracts through full lifecycle (solicitations to closeout).
• Knowledge of subcontract formation, flow-downs, and compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead as the U.S. Government contracts manager for Perimeter’s portfolio.
• Negotiate terms for prime contracts, subcontracts, grants, and other government instruments.
• Review solicitations, awards, and agreements to identify risks and negotiation positions.
• Interface with government personnel, prime contractors, and partners.
• Ensure contract documentation is accurate, complete, and audit-ready.

Skills

FAR/DFARS expertise

Negotiation leadership

Contract lifecycle management

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Tools

Contract management software

Job description

Perimeter is the global biosecurity infrastructure company, purpose-built to protect operational continuity and way of life in an era of accelerating biological threats.

Our end-to-end biosecurity infrastructure platform spans detection, characterization, forecasting, and response — powered by frontier AI and deployed globally across airports, hospitals, wastewater systems, and critical infrastructure. Perimeter enables rapid response —delivering scalable, reliable, software-integrated infrastructure, and converting biointelligence into real-time decisive action for governments and enterprises worldwide.

Additional information about Perimeter's mission, capabilities, and platform is available at https://www.perimeter.bio/

About The Role

Perimeter is seeking an experienced and highly capable U.S. Government contracts leader to support management and negotiation of our full portfolio of government awards and agreements. This person will serve as Perimeter’s lead contracts manager and principal subject-matter expert on federal contracting, supporting the business throughout the full acquisition lifecycle—from opportunity assessment and proposal development through negotiation, award administration, modification, and closeout.

This is both an externally and internally facing role. The Senior Director will negotiate directly with U.S. Government contracting personnel, prime contractors, subcontractors, and other partners while advising Perimeter’s executive, legal, finance, business development, and program teams on contractual requirements, risks, and strategy.

The successful candidate will bring deep, practical expertise in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), and related agency requirements. They will be a strong negotiator who can protect Perimeter’s intellectual property and business interests while developing pragmatic solutions that enable successful government partnerships.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead contracts manager and negotiator for Perimeter’s entire U.S. Government portfolio, including prime contracts, subcontracts, grants, cooperative agreements, Other Transactions, CRADAs, teaming agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and other government-related instruments.
• Lead contract review, negotiation, execution, administration, modification, and closeout across the full government acquisition lifecycle.
• Review inbound solicitations, proposed awards, subcontracts, and agreements; identify contractual, compliance, operational, and business risks; and recommend appropriate negotiation positions.
• Serve as Perimeter’s primary contractual interface with U.S. Government contracting personnel, prime contractors, subcontractors, research partners, and other external stakeholders.
• Draft, review, and manage formal contractual communications, including notices, requests for consent, responses to contracting officers, change documentation, and communications related to contract performance.
• Interpret and apply the FAR, DFARS, agency supplements, grant and cooperative agreement regulations, and other applicable federal acquisition policies.
• Review applicable clauses and determine required flow-down provisions for subcontractors, vendors, and other partners.
• Draft, negotiate, and administer subcontracts and partner agreements, ensuring that appropriate requirements are communicated, documented, and monitored.
• Negotiate complex terms and conditions, with particular attention to intellectual property, technical data and software rights, confidentiality, publication rights, cybersecurity requirements, indemnification, termination, audit rights, record retention, and clauses that could create unacceptable continuing or “reach-back” obligations.
• Partner closely with Program Management, Legal, and Finance on contract negotiations, risk allocation, compliance, and interpretation of contractual obligations.
• Support Business Development and program leadership during opportunity assessment, capture, solicitation review, proposal development, and award negotiations.
• Advise proposal teams on contractual requirements, representations and certifications, compliance considerations, and exceptions or assumptions that should be included in submissions.
• Provide practical guidance to internal teams on contractual obligations after award and help translate government requirements into clear, actionable business processes.
• Track deliverables, reporting requirements, funding limitations, option periods, modifications, key dates, and other contractual commitments throughout the period of performance.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and audit-ready contract files and records.
• Develop scalable contracting policies, templates, playbooks, approval workflows, and operating processes as Perimeter’s U.S. Government portfolio grows.
• Advise executive leadership on contractual strategy, material risks, and emerging issues across the government portfolio.
• Identify contractual risks and develop creative mitigation strategies that balance compliance with business objectives.
• Partner with Legal to protect Perimeter's intellectual property and negotiate complex commercial and government agreements.
• Ensure compliance with contractual obligations while maintaining complete, accurate, and audit-ready contract documentation.
• Advise executive leadership on contractual strategy, risk, and opportunities related to new government programs and partnerships.
• Mentor and provide guidance to future contracts personnel as the function grows.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and at least 10 years of progressively responsible experience managing and negotiating U.S. Government contracts, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Prior experience serving as the lead contracts professional for a government contractor or for a substantial portfolio of U.S. Government programs.
• Expert-level knowledge of the FAR and DFARS, including the ability to interpret clauses, assess applicability, identify required flow-downs, and provide practical guidance to business and program teams.
• Demonstrated experience negotiating directly with U.S. Government contracting personnel, prime contractors, subcontractors, and strategic partners.
• Significant experience managing federal contracts through the full lifecycle, including solicitation review, proposal support, negotiation, execution, administration, modifications, and closeout.
• Experience negotiating complex terms and conditions involving intellectual property, technical data and software rights, cybersecurity, audit rights, termination, and other material areas of contractual risk.
• Strong understanding of subcontract formation, administration, compliance, and flow-down requirements.
• Ability to work effectively across executive leadership, Legal, Finance, Business Development, technical teams, and program leadership.
• Excellent judgment, communication, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple complex awards and competing priorities independently.
• Comfort operating in a fast-moving environment and building processes where established infrastructure may not yet exist.
• Knowledge of certifications and eligibility under Small Business Administration for USG Contracting

Preferred Capabilities & Experience

• Experience with Other Transaction Agreements, grants, cooperative agreements, CRADAs, and other non-FAR-based instruments.
• Experience supporting U.S. Government research and development organizations, including DARPA, ARPA-H, BARDA, DTRA, Department of Defense service laboratories, DOE, DHS, or other national security agencies.
• Experience in biotechnology, biosecurity, defense, healthcare, or another advanced-technology sector.
• Familiarity with government contractor accounting, estimating, purchasing, property management, cybersecurity, and related compliance systems.
• DAWIA Contracting Level II certification, Back-to-Basics Contracting Professional certification, NCMA Certified Federal Contracts Manager (CFCM), Certified Professional Contracts Manager (CPCM), or a comparable credential.
• Prior experience working as a warranted government contracting officer or contract specialist.