General Counsel

About the role

Nooks is pioneering Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) — designing, building, and operating Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and other secured, classified environments for the defense and national security community. We work with the agencies, contractors, and mission-driven organizations that keep the nation safe, delivering the physical infrastructure that makes classified work possible. We’re growing fast, operating across multiple markets, and building a company that takes both the mission and the business seriously.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as primary legal advisor to the CEO and Executive Team; translate complex, often ambiguous regulatory landscapes into clear, actionable business guidance that advances growth rather than constraining it.
• Design and own the strategy for in-house versus outside counsel execution — determining which competencies to build internally, which to retain externally, and managing outside counsel relationships for cost, quality, and outcomes.
• Build the legal function from the ground up: hire and develop in-house legal talent; design workflows, tools, and intake processes that allow Operations and Sales to engage with legal efficiently and without friction.
• Own proactive risk identification and mitigation across Nooks' operational and commercial exposure — particularly product liability and litigation risk stemming from classified infrastructure failure — before claims arise, not after.
• Develop and implement a novel, company-specific risk management framework; the application at Nooks will not mirror existing industry models and requires original design thinking.
• Architect and continuously refine compliance programs across CMMC, ITAR, FAR/DFARS, and applicable federal and commercial regulatory regimes; identify gray areas and develop defensible positions that enable innovation.
• Oversee the end-to-end contract lifecycle for high-stakes customer, vendor, partnership, and government agreements — from drafting through negotiation, execution, and dispute resolution.
• Lead legal strategy for physical expansion: sophisticated lease negotiations, zoning, and site accreditation compliance across a growing nationwide footprint of classified facilities.
• Advise the Board of Directors on fiduciary obligations, corporate governance, and evolving compliance standards; manage cap table and all board-level legal materials.
• Lead legal execution of strategic transactions — investments, joint ventures, financing rounds — ensuring audit-ready status for SEC-level compliance and future M&A activity.
• Build and protect Nooks' intellectual property (IP) portfolio; manage all litigation strategy and dispute resolution.
• Partner with People/HR leadership on workforce legal matters: executive agreements, multi-state employment compliance, and policy design as headcount scales.
• Operate as a genuine executive stakeholder — contributing to company strategy, growth decisions, and board-level conversations beyond the legal lane.

The skillset

• 7+ years of progressive legal experience; Big Law foundation followed by meaningful in-house tenure at a high-growth startup or technology company strongly preferred.
• Proven track record of proactive risk identification and mitigation, particularly in product liability or infrastructure-failure scenarios involving government and/or commercial counterparties.
• Experience building or materially scaling an in-house legal function, including hiring, structuring, and designing workflows and tools that make legal accessible and efficient for operational and commercial teams.
• Strong command of corporate finance, equity compensation structures, and governance — including cap table management, board materials, and SEC-adjacent compliance.
• Player-coach mentality: comfortable owning board-level strategy and granular contract drafting in the same day. High conviction decision-maker under ambiguity.
• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school; active member in good standing of the Virginia or DC Bar (or eligible for immediate Corporate Counsel registration).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance; active clearance is a plus but not required at time of hire.

Eligibility + Clearance

You must be eligible to work in the U.S. Candidates must be capable of maintaining eligibility up to the Secret level within 45 days of hire.