Contract Manager

Position Overview

Seeking an experienced Contracts Manager to lead and support contract management activities across multiple manufacturing locations. This role will be responsible for developing, negotiating, and administering complex customer contracts while ensuring contractual compliance, risk mitigation, and alignment with business objectives.

The ideal candidate will have experience supporting customer-facing contracts within aerospace, defense, electronics manufacturing, or related manufacturing environments. This position requires strong negotiation skills, experience with new program awards and product-specific agreements, and the ability to manage contractual risk across multiple programs and stakeholders.

Experience supporting New Product Introduction (NPI) programs, contract negotiations, export compliance, and product schedule agreements is highly preferred.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the negotiation, administration, and management of assigned contracts and programs
• Support customer-facing contract activities for new awards, NPI programs, and ongoing program execution
• Review and negotiate:
• Terms and conditions
• NDAs/NDS agreements
• Product-specific agreements
• Product schedule agreements
• Evaluate contractual risk exposure and develop mitigation strategies during contract performance
• Manage contractual change control processes in coordination with program management procedures
• Lead cross-functional coordination between contracts, operations, finance, program management, and leadership teams
• Provide guidance and interpretation regarding contractual language, compliance, and negotiation alternatives
• Support implementation of strategic objectives, policies, and procedures related to contract management
• Oversee task planning, resource requirements, and effort estimates for assigned contracts
• Support export compliance activities and ensure adherence to applicable regulatory requirements
• Investigate and resolve contractual and compliance-related issues
• Coordinate training and knowledge-sharing activities related to contract management and compliance
• Build and maintain relationships with customers, suppliers, military representatives, and government agencies
• Mentor and develop team members while supporting process improvement initiatives

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field
• 7+ years of related contract management experience
• Minimum 2 years of experience in a project lead or leadership capacity
• Experience managing contracts of varying scope and complexity
• Strong negotiation and contract administration experience
• Experience reviewing and negotiating contract terms and conditions
• Experience with:
• New awards
• Product agreements
• Schedule agreements
• NPI/New Product Introduction environments
• Strong understanding of contractual risk management principles
• Knowledge of export compliance fundamentals
• Ability to work cross-functionally with leadership, operations, finance, and customers
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Advanced Microsoft Office proficiency

Preferred Qualifications

• Aerospace, defense, military, commercial aviation, electronics manufacturing, or industrial manufacturing experience
• Manufacturing industry background strongly preferred over service industry experience
• Contract management certification preferred
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS, JD) preferred
• Experience with export compliance administration preferred
• Program management certification preferred

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Contract negotiations
• Customer-facing contract management
• Contract risk mitigation
• Regulatory compliance
• Export compliance
• Change management processes
• Financial and budgetary analysis
• Earned value and estimation methods
• Cross-functional leadership
• Process improvement initiatives
• Supplier and customer relationship management