Director of Contracts & Legal Affairs

The Opportunity:

We’re seeking a dynamic Director of Contracts & Legal Affairs to lead the pursuit, development, and execution of high-value U.S. Government and Department of Defense (DoD) contracts while serving as a strategic legal advisor to the organization. This mission-critical leadership role sits at the center of enterprise growth—driving winning contracts strategies, ensuring contractual and regulatory compliance, and advising executive leadership on complex legal, business, and risk matters in a highly competitive federal contracting environment.

The ideal candidate is a proven leader with deep expertise in contracts strategy, with the ability to operate seamlessly across business development, operations, finance, and program execution. You will shape capture and contracts efforts from inception through award, negotiate and manage complex contractual frameworks, and protect the organization through disciplined legal and compliance oversight. Juris Doctor (JD) degree and prior legal counsel experience are required. Experience supporting U.S. Government and DoD contracts in a fast-paced, highly regulated environment is strongly preferred.

Our Technology: 

Safran Federal Systems provides Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (R-PNT) solutions and custom engineering services to U.S. Government agencies, defense organizations and their contractors. Safran Federal Systems is authorized to work on the full spectrum of U.S. Government classified and unclassified projects, in addition to supporting strategic partnerships for key defense PNT technologies.

How I will contribute:

Legal & Contracts Leadership

• Lead the development, coordination, and execution of strategic contracts for U.S. Government, DoD, prime contractor, and international defense opportunities.
• Develop and implement contracts strategies aligned with corporate growth objectives, customer requirements, and competitive positioning.
• Oversee end-to-end contracts lifecycle, ensuring accuracy, compliance, responsiveness, and alignment with solicitation requirements.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Business Development, Contracts, Program Management, Engineering, Operations, Finance, and Subject Matter Experts.
• Review, edit, and approve contracts submissions for legal sufficiency, clarity, consistency, and regulatory compliance.
• Conduct market and competitive analysis to inform contracts strategy and positioning.
• Establish and monitor contracts performance metrics and KPIs to drive continuous improvement.

Contracting & Legal Advisory

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements, including customer contracts, NDAs, teaming agreements, subcontracts, consulting agreements, and related legal documents.
• Develop and review contractual contracts components, including terms and conditions, transmittal letters, representations and certifications, and support legal documentation.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on legal, regulatory, contractual, and operational matters impacting business strategy and execution.
• Support contract negotiations with U.S. Government agencies, prime contractors, suppliers, and international partners.
• Provide legal guidance on government contracting, compliance obligations, risk mitigation, and dispute resolution.
• Support corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and other growth initiatives, as applicable.
• Coordinate with program and contracts teams to ensure contractual obligations are properly executed throughout program performance.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with applicable regulations, including FAR, DFARS, ITAR, EAR, Trade Agreements Act (TAA), and other U.S. and international procurement and export control laws.
• Support internal compliance programs, audits, and policy development initiatives.
• Identify, assess, and mitigate legal, contractual, and regulatory risks across business operations and customer engagements.
• Maintain awareness of evolving regulatory requirements impacting defense contracting and government procurement.

What you bring to the role:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Marketing, Legal Studies, Political Science, Government Contracting, or a related field required.
• Juris Doctor (JD) required.
• Minimum of 10 years of combined experience in contracts management, government contracts, defense contracting, legal affairs, and/or corporate counsel support.
• Proven success managing and submitting winning contracts within the defense or government contracting industry preferred.
• Strong knowledge of FAR, DFARS, government procurement regulations, and defense contracting practices preferred.
• Experience reviewing, negotiating, and administering customer contracts, NDAs, team agreements, subcontracts, and other legal and contractual documents.
• Prior experience as Corporate Counsel, General Counsel, Practicing Attorney, Contracts Counsel, or Government Contracts Attorney preferred.
• Experience supporting mergers & acquisitions (M&A), due diligence, corporate transactions, international contracts, and export-controlled programs preferred.
• Active U.S. security clearance preferred; ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DoD security clearance is strongly preferred.
• Strong analytical, organizational, negotiation, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple complex priorities and deadlines in a high-pressure environment.
• Demonstrated ability to advise executive leadership on legal, contractual, and business risk while leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing decision-making.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to effectively engage customers, suppliers, legal stakeholders, executive leadership, and technical teams.
• High level of integrity, professionalism, discretion, and sound business judgment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and contracts management tools.
• Ability to travel up to 10% for customer meetings, program reviews, and business development activities.
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time and communicate information and ideas clearly and accurately.

About Safran Federal Systems:

Safran Federal Systems has been awarded as a Winner of the USA Today and Rochester Metro Area Top Workplaces 2026 Award.

In 2022, Safran acquired Orolia, now Safran Trusted 4D, the world leader in Resilient PNT. At the intersection of critical infrastructure and national defense, Safran Trusted 4D solutions govern and protect the integrity of systems that shape the world.  In early 2019, Orolia Defense & Security spun off as a separate entity from its parent company Orolia, with the mission of providing resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions and custom engineering services to U.S. Government agencies, U.S. Defense organizations, and their contractors. 
 

In August of 2019, Safran Federal Systems acquired Talen-X, a U.S. company specializing in advanced GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Simulation solutions and Interference, Detection, and Mitigation (IDM) technologies. Talen-X's portfolio was an ideal fit and has helped to enhance Safran FS's overall offerings. The acquisition enabled Talen-X's existing resources, operations and capabilities to be scaled and accelerated to better support the warfighter. Read the press release here. 

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Safran Federal Systems operates as a proxy-regulated company, Free of Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI). As such, Safran FS Defense & Security is approved to work on the full spectrum of U.S. Government classified and unclassified projects and is positioned to support strategic partnerships in the development of key PNT technologies for the defense market. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. 

Please note this description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.