Senior Contract Specialist, Government

About the role

The Government Contracts Senior Specialist leads end-to-end contract lifecycle management for U.S. Government and prime contracts—from capture and proposal strategy through negotiation, award, administration, performance management, and closeout—while ensuring compliance with applicable acquisition regulations and company policies.

Responsibilities

• Contract strategy, deal shaping, and negotiations: Own contracting strategy for pursuits and active programs; develop negotiation objectives, fallback positions, and risk-mitigation plans aligned to business goals.
• Lead and/or support complex negotiations with Government contracting officers and prime/customer procurement counterparts, brief internal leadership on positions, risks, and outcomes.
• Analyze solicitations/RFPs; support proposal development and review cycles; coordinate cross-functional inputs to produce compliant, competitive offers.
• Advise stakeholders on contract terms, rights/obligations, and contractual impacts to technical, cost, and schedule baselines.
• Administer contracts through execution and closeout: interpret requirements, manage deliverables/CLINs, ensure timely submissions (mods, notices, reports), and support audits and customer communications.
• Identify, document, and support resolution of contractual issues (e.g., changes/constructive changes, scope control, equitable adjustments, claims/REAs as applicable) to protect program performance and financial outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with FAR/DFARS and related regulations, and internal policies/delegations of authority; flag non-compliances and implement corrective actions.
• Serve as the primary contractual interface with internal and external stakeholders; facilitate cross-functional alignment to resolve issues and enable program execution.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree (Business, Finance, Legal Studies, Engineering, or related) and typically 8+ years of relevant government/defense contracting experience (or equivalent combination of education and experience).
• Demonstrated experience across the contract lifecycle: proposal strategy, negotiations, administration, and closeout.
• Working knowledge of FAR/DFARS and government contracting practices (including firm-fixed-price and cost-type environments).
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation communication skills; able to influence decisions and brief leadership with clear recommendations.
• Business judgment, deal structuring, and principled negotiation.
• Risk identification, mitigation planning, and issue resolution under schedule pressure.
• Regulatory fluency (FAR/DFARS) and compliance discipline.
• Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management.

Qualifications

• Experience negotiating complex proposals/contracts (including sole-source and other high-scrutiny actions) and supporting cross-functional gate/review processes.
• Familiarity with cost or pricing data requirements (e.g., Truthful Cost or Pricing Data/TINA concepts) where applicable.
• NCMA certifications (e.g., CFCM/CPCM) and/or advanced degree (MBA/JD).
• Ability to obtain/maintain a security clearance if required by program assignment (role-dependent).

Skills

• Experience with contract types such as FFP/FPI/CPFF and related execution considerations.
• Experience with regulatory/compliance artifacts as needed.
• Experience with IP/data-rights and marking/legend compliance where applicable.
• Experience coordinating with Legal and engineering/data owners to protect company and customer interests.

Benefits

• Salary: $110,000 - $130,000 annually, depending on education, experience and skills.
• Equity position in Niron via stock option grant.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Mental healthcare benefits.
• 401k plan with 6% company match.
• Paid time off to take time for what you need in life.