Contract Manager

Join Citra Space Corporation and help shape the future of space domain awareness (SDA). At Citra, we specialize in exploiting passive RF, radar, and electro‑optical technologies to track, identify, and characterize space objects, ensuring the safety and sustainability of on‑orbit activities. Our team tackles some of the most complex challenges in SDA, addressing threats posed by unidentified or anomalous space objects that could disrupt communications, damage infrastructure, or compromise national security. As a member of our team, you'll work in a fast‑paced, collaborative environment where your expertise will directly contribute to solving critical problems that impact the future of global space operations. Contract Manager Citra is looking for a Contracts Lead to own and scale our contracting function across commercial customers and government customers. This person will be responsible for negotiating, managing, and improving the full lifecycle of Citra’s contracts, from proposal support and teaming agreements through contract execution, compliance, amendments, renewals, and closeout. This is a hands‑on role for someone who can move quickly in a startup environment while bringing the rigor needed to support defense, aerospace, and government contracting. The ideal candidate has worked directly with commercial agreements, U.S. government contracts, and prime/subcontractor relationships, and is comfortable partnering closely with business development, finance, engineering, product, and leadership. Responsibilities Own Citra’s end‑to‑end contracts function, including intake, review, negotiation, execution, tracking, compliance support, renewals, and closeout Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of agreements, including commercial contracts, government contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, NDAs, vendor agreements, data rights terms, software/SaaS terms, statements of work, and amendments Support government business development and proposal activities by reviewing solicitations, identifying contractual risks, preparing compliance inputs, and helping structure bids, teaming arrangements, and subcontract terms Serve as Citra’s internal expert on prime/subcontractor relationships, including flow‑down clauses, prime customer requirements, deliverables, invoicing milestones, acceptance criteria, and contract change management Partner with leadership to develop practical contracting strategies that balance speed, risk, customer needs, compliance obligations, and long‑term business goals Work with finance and operations to ensure contracts are accurately reflected in revenue planning, billing, procurement, reporting, and internal controls Help manage obligations related to FAR/DFARS clauses, data rights, IP ownership, export controls, cybersecurity/security requirements, representations and certifications, and government customer requirements Build and maintain contract templates, clause playbooks, negotiation guidelines, approval workflows, and a searchable contract repository Track key obligations, deadlines, deliverables, renewals, reporting requirements, and contractual risks across active agreements Advise internal teams on contract interpretation, customer commitments, subcontractor obligations, and practical paths to resolution when issues arise Support subcontractor and vendor negotiations, especially where Citra is performing as a prime or subcontractor on government or aerospace programs Qualifications 7+ years of contracts, legal operations, procurement, government contracts, or commercial contracting experience, ideally in aerospace, defense, national security, space, software, or deep tech. Strong working knowledge of FAR/DFARS contracting concepts, flow‑down clauses, teaming agreements, subcontracts, government solicitations, and proposal support Experience negotiating with prime contractors, government customers, commercial customers, vendors, and strategic partners Ability to identify risk, explain tradeoffs clearly, and recommend practical business‑oriented solutions Strong drafting skills and attention to detail, with the judgment to know when to push, when to escape, and when to move quickly Comfort operating independently in a fast‑moving environment where processes are still being built Excellent cross‑functional communication skills, especially with technical, finance, business development and executive stakeholders High integrity and sound judgment when handling sensitive customer, government, pricing, and technical information Preferred Skills Experience in space, satellite systems, RF, ISR, autonomy, aerospace, defense software, or government SaaS/data products Experience supporting SBIR/STTR, OTAs, IDIQs, CRADAs, BAAs, commercial item contracts, or other federal acquisition pathways Experience with data rights, technical data, software licensing, IP ownership, and government‑purpose rights Familiarity with export controls, ITAR/EAR, CMMC, NIST 800‑171, facility/personnel security processes, or classified/unclassified government program environments Experience building a contracts function from the ground up at an early‑stage or growth‑stage company Compensation And Benefits Base salary between $125k and $150k Paid healthcare for employees and dependents Employer HSA contributions Generous equity Unlimited PTO This position requires compliance with U.S. export control laws and regulations. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) to meet the requirements of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and/or Export Administration Regulations (EAR). #J-18808-Ljbffr