Senior Contracts Manager

About the Opportunity

Odyssey is seeking a seasoned Senior Contracts Manager to own the end-to-end contract lifecycle for our aerospace, defense, and space programs. Based in either of our offices in Houston, Texas (preferred) or Boulder, Colorado, you will serve as a trusted business partner across Legal, Finance, Program Management, Business Development, Engineering, Supply Chain, Security, Quality, and executive leadership.

What you’ll do

• Own the full contract lifecycle, including opportunity intake, RFP/RFQ review, proposal support, contract strategy, negotiation, execution, administration, modifications, flowdowns, claims/dispute support, renewals, and closeout

• Lead contract negotiations with NASA, DoD, prime contractors, commercial space companies, civil space customers, and other strategic counterparties

• Assess contract terms and conditions; identify legal, financial, regulatory, operational, delivery, IP/data rights, cybersecurity/CUI, export-control, and compliance risks, and develop practical mitigation strategies

• Bridge legal and business requirements to protect the company while supporting revenue growth, customer relationships, speed, and execution discipline

• Interpret and advise on FAR Parts 12 and 15 and related FAR/DFARS/NASA FAR Supplement clauses, including flowdowns, data rights, deliverables, changes, termination, payment, inspection/acceptance, and subcontractor obligations

• Partner with Finance and Accounting on DCAA audit support, Incurred Cost Proposals/Submissions, provisional billing rates, indirect cost support, cost allowability, contract billing terms, audit responses, and contract closeout

• Support a range of agreement types, including prime contracts, subcontracts, NDAs, teaming agreements, master service agreements, purchase agreements, cost-type/fixed-price/T&M contracts, IDIQ/task order vehicles, and commercial/civil space agreements

• Lead cross-functional contract reviews and approvals, providing crisp executive summaries of key risks, tradeoffs, and recommended positions

• Develop and improve contract templates, clause playbooks, negotiation guidelines, approval matrices, contract repositories, obligations tracking, and CLM workflows

• Train business stakeholders on contracting best practices, government contracting requirements, risk identification, and negotiation discipline

• Use approved technology, including AI-enabled tools where appropriate, to improve clause analysis, redline review, obligations extraction, and risk triage while maintaining confidentiality and compliance standards

Required

• Candidates must have hands-on experience (not just familiarity) with:

  • 8 to 10+ years of progressive contracts experience, preferably with a primary background in aerospace, defense, space systems, government contracting, or other highly regulated technical industries
  • NASA and DoD contracting, including customer-facing or prime-contractor negotiations and the ability to work effectively with contracting officers, program teams, and executive stakeholders
  • FAR Part 12 and FAR Part 15, plus practical familiarity with FAR/DFARS/NASA FAR Supplement requirements and government contract flowdowns
  • Supporting DCAA audits and Incurred Cost Proposals/Submissions, including coordination with Finance/Accounting on cost allowability, indirect rates, audit requests, billing, and closeout
  • Owning contracts from intake through execution, administration, modification, compliance monitoring, and closeout
  • Strong negotiation skills and the ability to develop positions that balance customer requirements, business goals, regulatory obligations, and enterprise risk tolerance
  • Reading, interpreting, and explaining complex contract provisions in plain English for technical, commercial, financial, and executive audiences
  • Excellent cross-functional leadership, communication, prioritization, project management, and stakeholder management skills
  • Contract lifecycle management systems or contract repositories, with a process-improvement mindset

• Bachelor’s degree in business, finance, legal studies, engineering, public administration, supply chain, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

• Additional useful skills (not required for every position):

  • Experience with civil space, commercial space, launch, spacecraft, satellite, mission systems, propulsion, avionics, robotics, ground systems, or other aerospace and defense technical programs
  • Advanced degree, JD, MBA, or an NCMA certification (CPCM, CFCM, or CCCM), or comparable professional credential
  • Experience with DFARS, NASA FAR Supplement, CAS awareness, Truthful Cost or Pricing Data, government property, CDRLs/DD Form 1423, data rights, IP licensing, technical data, software rights, cybersecurity/CUI, and export-control coordination
  • Working knowledge of AI-assisted contract review, clause comparison, redline summarization, obligations extraction, playbook automation, or risk-scoring tools, used within company-approved confidentiality and governance requirements
  • Experience building scalable contract policies, approval workflows, contract templates, risk matrices, and reporting dashboards for a growing organization

Additional Information

• This position is intended to be based in Houston, TX, with Boulder, CO also acceptable depending on candidate fit and business needs.
• The role may require periodic travel for customer negotiations, program reviews, supplier meetings, internal leadership reviews, audits, or industry events.
• Because this role may involve U.S. government, export-controlled, CUI, proprietary, or classified-adjacent program information, candidates must be able to satisfy applicable work authorization, export-control, and information security requirements.
• Being part of Odyssey means joining a team that genuinely enjoys its work. We offer challenging problems, a supportive culture, and the chance to contribute to humanity’s future in space.