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. The role serves as a key business partner to Program Management, Finance/Pricing, Legal, Supply Chain/Subcontracts, Engineering, and Security to structure executable deals, manage risk, and protect the company’s business and IP/data rights. What you'll do 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. Proposal and pre-award execution: 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. Post-award administration and performance support: 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. Compliance and governance: Ensure compliance with FAR/DFARS and related regulations, and internal policies/delegations of authority; flag non-compliances and implement corrective actions. Support Commercial Item Determinations and other regulatory/compliance artifacts as needed. Manage IP/data-rights and marking/legend compliance where applicable; coordinate with Legal and engineering/data owners to protect company and customer interests Cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management: Serve as the primary contractual interface with internal and external stakeholders; facilitate cross-functional alignment to resolve issues and enable program execution. You might be a great fit if you have 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 Preferred Experience: Experience negotiating complex proposals/contracts (including sole-source and other high-scrutiny actions) and supporting cross-functional gate/review processes. Experience with contract types such as FFP/FPI/CPFF and related execution considerations. 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). Location and Travel Hybrid/onsite/remote depends on program and facility requirements; may include work on classified or controlled programs. Travel may be required depending on program/customer needs. Our pay and 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 Experience in a fun, high-performing, manufacturing environment set to change the world