Contracts Manager and Legal Operations Manager

About the role Muon Space seeks an experienced, detail-oriented Contracts Manager and Legal Ops Manager to join our growing team. In this role, you manage the day-to-day lifecycle of both commercial and government (DoD, IC, and Civil) contracts. You will partner closely with cross-functional teams—including Growth (business development), Mission Engineering (Program Management), and Supply Chain—accelerate deal execution, streamline workflows, and proactively mitigate contractual risk. Ideally candidates are hybrid out of San Jose, but open to remote. This is an exceptional opportunity for a mid-level contracts professional looking to deeply impact the rapidly evolving commercial space and defense sector under direct mentorship. Responsibilities Contract Drafting & Review: Produce and review NDAs, Teaming Agreements, Subcontracts, Consulting Agreements, Vendor Agreements, Modifications, and PO terms & conditions against established playbooks and templates, including accurate flow-down of prime contract requirements. Risk Identification & Escalation: Spot deviations from playbook positions and unfavorable clauses; translate technical and business risks into structured review packages for senior contracts counsel. Proposal & Capture Partnership: Partner with Growth through the pre-award lifecycle; support bid capture and proposal preparation. Contract Administration & Customer Interface: Manage post-award execution, work with Mission Engineering to submit deliverables and CDRLs, coordinate modifications and change requests, and serve as a day-to-day point of contact with customer contracting officers and prime counterparts. Government Systems Administration: Own Muon's profiles, representations, and certifications in SAM.gov, PIEE, WAWF, and related portals and supplier/subcontractor databases. Contract Operations & Records: Anchor day-to-day department operations, tracking deadlines, metadata, version control, and an audit-ready digital filing system across active and legacy files. CLM & Process Improvement: Refine Muon's CLM workflows to shorten cycle times and give stakeholders clear pipeline visibility and status. Cross-Functional Partnership: Advise Growth, Mission Engineering, and Supply Chain on contracting terms, process, and timelines. Qualifications Experience: 4+ years in contracts administration, management, or legal operations, with at least 2 recent years at a government defense contractor, intelligence community partner, or aerospace company. Government Procurement: Working knowledge of the FAR and its supplements, and fluency in Government contract portals such as SAM.gov, PIEE, WAWF, and supplier/subcontractor portals,including navigation, updates, and reporting. Contract Portfolio: Hands-on across the full lifecycle (pre-award through closeout) with a mix of FFP, SBIR, commercial/non-commercial, and OTA agreements. Proposal Support: History of partnering with Growth or capture teams to review RFP requirements, flag proposal risk, and meet submittal deadlines. Execution Discipline: Experience working from playbooks and templates. Organization & Throughput: Experience managing a high volume of concurrent actions in a fast-paced environment; prioritizes independently, tracks shifting deadlines, and keeps details from slipping. Communication: Clear written and verbal communicator who can translate contracting terms for non-legal teams. Work Style: Process-oriented, deadline-driven, and comfortable with the broad scope of duties typical of a small team. Nice-to-have Skills Active TS security clearance (or eligibility to acquire one). Direct experience in the aerospace, space systems, or satellite industry. Professional certification such as NCMA Certified Federal Contract Manager (CFCM). A Bachelor’s or Master's degree in business, law, finance, or a technical engineering discipline preferred; equivalent experience considered. Salary The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $150,000 plus a competitive equity gra