Contract Administrator

We are on a mission to become a leading supplier of critical materials that enable the green energy and technology revolution. Our materials and technologies are required for the electric vehicle, green energy, consumer electronics, and defense industries, and our battery grade lithium and tech metals are needed for chipsets, semiconductors, and 5G. We have a substantial interest in the Round Top, Heavy Rare Earth, Lithium and Critical Minerals deposit in West Texas. We have also developed the United States’ first rare earth and critical minerals processing facility and we own the only scalable, sintered neo‑magnet manufacturing system in the Western Hemisphere. By developing this fully integrated, US-based “mine‑to‑magnet” critical mineral supply chain, we are poised to become the leading domestic supplier to these industries. Position Overview The Contract Administrator supports USA Rare Earth's contracts function across the full lifecycle of commercial agreements that power our mine‑to‑magnet supply chain from supplier and offtake agreements to NDAs, LOIs, MSAs, and services contracts. Reporting to the General Counsel, this role drafts, reviews, administers, and monitors contracts; tracks compliance, milestones, and obligations; maintains organized records and certificate of insurance (COI) programs; and partners with legal, procurement, operations, and finance to surface and resolve contractual risk. The role is well suited to a contracts professional with two‑plus years of demonstrated experience who is ready to take ownership of moderately complex agreements with limited supervision and contribute to building scalable contract administration processes in a fast‑growing critical minerals company. Key Responsibilities Draft, review, and revise commercial agreements including NDAs, LOIs, MSAs, services agreements, purchase orders, and amendments using approved templates, standard language, and stakeholder input, ensuring alignment with company policy and risk tolerances. Administer assigned contracts across the full lifecycle: track key milestones, renewals, deliverables, notice periods, and termination triggers; maintain accurate contract records and status reports. Monitor contract compliance by both USA Rare Earth and its counterparties; identify deviations from contracted terms and escalte to legal counsel and business owners with proposed paths to resolution. Maintain the certificate of insurance (COI) program: track required coverages, expirations, and counterparty compliance, and coordinate with brokers and counterparties to remediate gaps. Maintain organized contract files, naming conventions, and records retention practices within the company's contract management and document systems (e.g., SharePoint, CLM tools); contribute to process improvements that scale with the business. Support pre‑signature workflows including routing for review and approval, capturing redlines and negotiation history, preparing execution packages, and managing electronic signature workflows. Assist with contract reporting and analytics (obligation tracking, spend visibility, expiration dashboards) and support audits, diligence requests, and internal control reviews. Support, where applicable, contracts involving government customers or government‑funded work, including flow‑down clauses and basic FAR/DFARS awareness, under the direction of legal counsel. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities Strong working knowledge of commercial contracting concepts and terms (NDAs, LOIs, MSAs, services agreements, supply agreements, indemnities, limitations of liability, IP, insurance, and termination), applied at a practical, day‑to‑day administration level. Demonstrated ability to draft, redline, and revise contract language using approved templates and playbook positions, escalating non‑standard issues to legal counsel with a clear summary of the risk and proposed path forward. Excellent organization, prioritization, and attention to detail; able to manage a portfolio of concurrent agreements and track milestones, renewals, and obligations without missing deadlines. Strong written and verbal communication skills; able to interact professionally with internal stakeholders across legal, procurement, operations, and finance, and with external counterparties, brokers, and counsel. Sound judgment around confidentiality, sensitive information, and risk escalation; comfortable working in a high‑accountability environment where accuracy matters. Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), document management platforms (e.g., SharePoint), e‑signature tools, and contract lifecycle management (CLM) or similar systems; aptitude for adopting new tools as the contracts function scales. Process‑building mindset, with the ability to take an ad hoc workflow and turn it into a documented, repeatable system (trackers, naming conventions, retention schedules, dashboards). Comfort operating in a fast‑paced, growth‑stage environment with shifting priorities and autonomy to own work end‑to‑end. Minimum Requirements Bachelor's degree in business, legal studies, supply chain, or a related field, plus two (2) or more years of progressively responsible experience in contract administration, paralegal work, or a closely related contracts/legal operations role. In lieu of a bachelor's degree, six (6) or more years of progressively responsible experience in contract administration, paralegal practice, or contracts‑focused legal operations is acceptable. An equivalent combination of education, professional certifications, and directly relevant experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for the role will also be considered. Demonstrated experience drafting, administering, and tracking commercial agreements (NDAs, LOIs, MSAs, services agreements, or similar) across the full contract lifecycle. Working proficiency with Microsoft Office, document/records management tools, and e‑signature platforms; experience with a CLM or comparable contracts database is preferred. Exposure to government contracting concepts (FAR/DFARS, flow‑downs, prime/subcontract relationships) is a plus but not required; willingness to develop this knowledge is expected. Paralegal certificate, NCMA membership, or progress toward an NCMA certification (CCCM, CFCM, or CPCM) is a plus. Must be legally authorized to work in the United States and able to satisfy any export‑control or eligibility requirements applicable to USA Rare Earth's business. Physical Demands The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and distance vision. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk, stand, move, sit, carry, bend, kneel, reach, push, pull, lift, use hands and fingers, handle, or feel, and talk and hear. May be required to lift and move boxes or packages not exceeding 20 pounds in weight. Some work stress inherent to the position and extended work hours may be required. Work Environment The work environment will be an office environment. Noise level: Normal office noises. Equal Employment Opportunities USA Rare Earth proudly supports Equal Employment Opportunities. USA Rare Earth's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and will provide reasonable accommodations according to applicable federal, state, and/or local laws. For assistance applying for employment through this site due to disability, please contact People & Culture at View email address on click.appcast.io to discuss reasonable accommodations. #J-18808-Ljbffr