Corporate Counsel (Contracts Negotiation and Administration)

Overview

A national Energy Service Company (ESCO) specializing in sustainability and infrastructure projects is seeking an in-house attorney to provide practical legal support across the business. The organization delivers turnkey, design-build energy and water efficiency solutions primarily to government, healthcare, and education sectors, managing over $1 billion in projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead contract negotiations and manage contract intake, review, redlines, internal alignment, approvals, and execution.
• Review and negotiate a variety of contracts including prime contracts, subcontracts, vendor agreements, proposal and RFP terms.
• Identify and communicate legal, financial, schedule, and operational risks with actionable redlines aligned to the organization's risk framework.
• Coordinate internal reviews and approvals involving project teams, operations, finance, risk/insurance, leadership, and outside counsel as needed.
• Ensure subcontract and vendor agreements appropriately flow down obligations and protections from prime contracts.
• Support proposal and RFP responses by reviewing terms and conditions, developing exceptions or clarifications, and aligning commercial positions.
• Manage the contracts pipeline to remove blockers and maintain momentum toward signature.
• Maintain a centralized, searchable repository for executed agreements with proper access and version control.
• Provide day-to-day legal support on broader business matters including corporate governance, employment issues, vendor disputes, and compliance.
• Maintain a legal request intake and triage process, prioritizing issues and communicating guidance to stakeholders.
• Support claims, disputes, and formal notice strategies in partnership with project leadership and outside counsel.
• Develop and maintain internal contracting policies, playbooks, and approval thresholds; train stakeholders on standard positions and escalation triggers.
• Utilize AI tools to accelerate contract review processes while independently validating outputs and maintaining confidentiality and privilege controls.
• Build lightweight automations to improve contracting speed and consistency without compromising accuracy.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Active license to practice law in at least one U.S. jurisdiction in good standing.
• Ability to register as Virginia Corporate Counsel (bar exam not required).
• 5–10+ years of relevant legal experience, including commercial and government contracting and negotiation in construction, energy services, or energy consulting.
• Exceptional written communication skills and strong discipline in contract redlining.
• Ability to synthesize complex risks into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Highly organized with experience building and maintaining contract trackers, dashboards, and workflows.
• Demonstrated ability to balance use of AI tools with independent judgment and accuracy validation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in ESCO, EPC, or construction environments.
• Familiarity with public-sector or federal contracting and contract flow-downs.
• Knowledge of bonding, surety concepts, and risk/insurance coordination.

Location & Travel

This position is primarily remote with occasional travel to headquarters located in Arlington, VA or Denver, CO to support critical negotiations.