Contracts Manager and Legal Operations Manager

About the role Muon Space seeks an experienced, detail-oriented Contracts 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. 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 grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process About Muon Space Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world. Taking Care of Our Team At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave. Our mission embraces the entire planet and we believe our team should too. Muon is dedicated to creating a diverse and dynamic company and workforce. We believe in equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, age, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or gender identity. We value diversity in the workplace, and that starts with our applicants. We encourage you to apply, even if you don't check all the boxes, and we look forward to reviewing your application! In addition, if you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know. ITAR/EAR Requirements This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.