Research Contract Officer

About the role

The Research Contract Officer assists the Program Director in managing, drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the University's portfolio of academic, industrial, and government research contracts. The position supports the protection of University intellectual property, compliance with applicable institutional and sponsor requirements, and the timely execution of research agreements.

Responsibilities

• Drafts, reviews, and negotiates customary and nonstandard University research agreements, including Sponsored Research Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, Data Use Agreements, equipment loans, and third-party commercial contract documents.
• Evaluates agreement terms for alignment with UTA policies, University of Texas System rules, federal requirements, controlled information obligations, export control considerations, intellectual property rights, publication rights, and liability exposure in public higher education contracts.
• Coordinates with Pre-Award, the Office of Grant and Contract Services, UTA/System legal resources, Principal Investigators, and departmental administrators to align contract terms with scopes of work, budgets, compliance requirements, and institutional signature authority.
• Prepares redlines, negotiation summaries, background briefs, compliance checklists, and signature packets for review by the Program Director and authorized institutional signatories.
• Maintains template agreements, workflow documentation, contract records, status tracking, and auditable electronic files in support of efficient agreement management and institutional reporting.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in the State of Texas or the ability to obtain a Texas license within twelve (12) months of employment.
• One (1) year of legal experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with higher education law
• Research administration
• Technology transfer
• Federal grants or contracts
• State procurement
• Public-sector contracting
• Sponsored research agreements

Skills

• Knowledge of contract drafting, negotiation, and legal issue spotting in a public university or research environment.
• Understanding of intellectual property, publication rights, confidentiality, data use, export controls, controlled information, and liability concepts.
• Ability to manage multiple active workflows, proofread complex documents, and communicate clearly with faculty, administrators, sponsors, and legal stakeholders.
• Ability to prepare concise summaries, redlines, briefing materials, and escalation notes for institutional decision-makers.

Schedule

Monday through Friday; 8:00am through 5:00pm

Benefits

Position is benefit eligible: Yes. Comprehensive benefits package available at https://www.uta.edu/hr/employee-benefits.