Director, Commercial Contracts

Net Power Inc. (NYSE: NPWR) is a Houston-based energy technology and project development company commercializing a proprietary natural gas power generation technology for large-load customers, including data centers. The company is in an active period of project development, commercial contracting, and project financing, and its legal function operates with a small internal team that carries primary responsibility for day-to-day corporate, securities, and governance work, supported by outside counsel on specialized or peak-volume matters.

Our vision is to make natural gas the lowest cost form of clean firm power.

Our impact is transformational - Headquartered in Houston, Texas, we aspire to improve the communities where we work and we’re committed to pioneering advancements that redefine the energy landscape, ensuring a better future for generations to come.

J ob Overvie w

Net Power is seeking an experienced Director, Commercial Contracts, for a business-facing commercial role that owns the operational backbone of the contracting process, from first drafts and signature routing through post-execution obligation management. Working closely with the General Counsel, Commercial, Operations, Finance, Project Management, and Supply Chain stakeholders, this role ensures that project agreements move efficiently from negotiation to execution, and that once signed, every obligation, deadline, and milestone in them is tracked and met. A law degree is not required. The Director does not provide legal advice; legal-risk positions and determinations of legal effect rest with counsel.

This role is based on-site in Houston, TX. Net Power offers a hybrid work schedule, 3 days in the office and 2 days remote. Occasional travel to project sites and Board meetings is expected. Project site visits require completion of site safety orientation and use of personal protective equipment.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Contract Execution & Lifecycle Management

• Own end-to-end contract execution across project agreements, from final redline coordination through verification of signature authority, signature routing, execution, and filing.
• Maintain and administer the contract lifecycle management (CLM) system and repository, ensuring executed agreements, amendments, and ancillary documents are properly filed, version-controlled, and accessible to internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate approval and signature routing across Commercial, Operations, Finance, and Legal in line with the company’s delegations of authority.
• Prepare and maintain diligence trackers, closing checklists, and signature packages for project and financing transactions.
• Coordinate counterparty and supplier onboarding, including diligence, insurance certificates, and system records.

Obligation Management

• Build and maintain obligation-tracking and compliance calendars across the project contract portfolio, covering conditions precedent, notice deadlines, performance milestones, long-lead procurement dates, consent rights, renewal and termination windows, reporting obligations, and insurance and credit support requirements.
• Monitor internal and counterparty compliance with contractual obligations, administer contract notices and change-order logs during construction, flag upcoming deadlines, and escalate potential breaches or missed milestones to the General Counsel and the relevant business owner.
• Maintain a master contract status tracker and report regularly to the General Counsel, executive leadership, and, as requested, the Board on contract execution status, obligation compliance, and the negotiation pipeline.
• Prepare first drafts and negotiate nondisclosure agreements, letters of intent, vendor and services agreements, and other recurring commercial documents against approved templates and negotiation playbooks, escalating deviations to the General Counsel.
• Support negotiation of project agreements under the direction of the General Counsel and alongside outside counsel by preparing markups, tracking open-issues and redline logs, and coordinating input from Commercial, Operations, and Finance stakeholders.
• Maintain standard contract templates, playbooks, fallback positions, and the delegation of authority matrix in partnership with the General Counsel, ensuring consistent commercial terms across the contract portfolio.
• Serve as the day-to-day liaison between Legal, business stakeholders, and outside counsel to keep negotiations moving and ensure business terms are accurately reflected in contract drafts.
• Partner with outside counsel on contract drafting and negotiation logistics, and track outside counsel scope, budgets, and invoices against agreed rates and staffing.
• Support broader legal-operations processes, including matter intake, workflow tools, and continuous improvement of contracting processes.

Drafting & Negotiation

• Prepare first drafts and negotiate nondisclosure agreements, letters of intent, vendor and services agreements, and other recurring commercial documents against approved templates and negotiation playbooks, escalating deviations to the General Counsel.
• Support negotiation of project agreements under the direction of the General Counsel and alongside outside counsel by preparing markups, tracking open-issues and redline logs, and coordinating input from Commercial, Operations, and Finance stakeholders.
• Maintain standard contract templates, playbooks, fallback positions, and the delegation of authority matrix in partnership with the General Counsel, ensuring consistent commercial terms across the contract portfolio.
• Serve as the day-to-day liaison between Legal, business stakeholders, and outside counsel to keep negotiations moving and ensure business terms are accurately reflected in contract drafts.

Legal Operations & Cross-Functional Coordination

• Partner with outside counsel on contract drafting and negotiation logistics, and track outside counsel scope, budgets, and invoices against agreed rates and staffing.
• Support broader legal-operations processes, including matter intake, workflow tools, and continuous improvement of contracting processes.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Eight or more years of professional experience in energy, power, or infrastructure, including four or more years with direct responsibility for negotiating and closing commercial agreements.
• Demonstrated ownership of at least one executed utility-scale power purchase agreement or comparable long-term commercial agreement.
• Strong process discipline and organizational skills, including experience tracking post-execution obligations across a portfolio of agreements.
• Comfortable operating in a small organization with high transaction volume and compressed timelines, and interfacing directly with senior business stakeholders across Commercial, Operations, and Finance, as well as outside counsel.
• Strong drafting, markup, and redlining skills on commercial terms, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to work from templates and playbooks with limited supervision.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Ability to work on-site in Houston, Texas, and to travel to project sites.

  PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience with behind-the-meter or co-located load, large-load interconnection, or data center power supply.
• ERCOT market experience.
• Exposure to gas-fired generation, EPC contracting, or long-lead equipment procurement.
• Ability to read, interrogate, and stress-test project financial models.
• Experience implementing or administering a contract lifecycle management system.
• Experience with Salesforce is a plus.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Candidates must be able to perform following essential functions:
• Operate at a computer and sit for long periods of time.
• Repeat motions that may include the wrists, hands, or fingers.

This description reflects the general nature and scope of the role and is not an exhaustive list of duties. It may evolve with the needs of the business.

Net Power is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Net Power provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who need an accommodation during the application or interview process may contact Human Resources.

** UNSOLICITED THIRD-PARTY RESUMES NOT ACCEPTED

Net Power LLC is not responsible for any fee related to unsolicited resumes from 3rd party staffing and recruiting agencies (whether submitted through this website or sent directly to employees) unless a written agreement is in place between the agency and NET Power LLC (“Company”) and an authorized Company representative makes a written request to the agency to assist with this requisition. Similarly, no fee will be paid for candidates who apply and claim to be represented by an agency. Any unsolicited resumes, CVs, or other candidate information submitted by an agency will become the property of Company, and no fee will be paid in the event such candidate is hired.

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