Vice President, Contracts

The Vice President Contracts (VP Contracts) will report to the Chief Legal Officer (CLO) and will lead STRs contracts function as a strategic enabler of growth speed and mission impact. This role oversees the full lifecycle of STRs contractual agreements while ensuring disciplined compliance risk management and execution quality.

As STR accelerates its company-wide pivot to a Tech-Enabled Services (TES) strategybuilding reusable software and hardware TES Cores and deploying them rapidly across multiple missionsthe VP Contracts will help design and operationalize contracting models that support (i) faster time-to-award and time-to-impact (ii) scaling product reuse (iii) higher margins through value-based and outcomes-aligned pricing and (iv) customer-funded R&D and early prototypes that mature into larger longer-term programs.

The VP Contracts will be a valued member of STR leadership relied upon as a subject matter expert and key partner to the other Functional and Division Leaders. This role will lead a team of approximately 20 employees.

Duties and Responsibilities

Contracting Strategy for TES Prototyping and Transition-to-Scale

• Partner with executive leadership (CLO COO CFO Product leadership and Program/Pursuit leaders) to develop contracting strategies that enable STRs TES business model.
• Build repeatable contracting playbooks for:
  • Productized software / software-enabled systems
  • Reference designs and modular hardware/firmware deliverables
  • Customer-funded prototypes and pilots
  • Transition pathways from prototype to production/sustainment.
• Create and continuously refine contract structures that align incentives and produce mission outcomes for our customers and scalable delivery and acceptable risk allocation for STR.

FFP OT and Alternative Acquisition Pathways

• Lead STRs approach to FFP and OTA contracting including:
  • Working with the Government to select the right contract type and incentive structure for the technical and delivery risk profile
  • Establishing practical strategies for scope definition acceptance criteria and change management
  • Supporting rapid negotiation and award timelines for prototypes and early deployments
  • Designing clear executable paths for follow-on production and scaling.
• Advise capture and program teams on pricing milestones and performance measures that support predictable delivery and value-based outcomes.

Contract Management and Negotiation

• Review solicitations and advise on business-impactful requirements clauses and acquisition strategies.
• Analyze negotiate and execute agreements including prime contracts subcontracts proprietary information agreements teaming agreements consulting agreements licensing agreements vendor agreements and lease agreements.
• Ensure agreements are documented accurate internally consistent aligned with company policy and compliant with applicable regulations and customer requirements.
• Support price-to-win negotiations including contract milestone development.
• Own enterprise procurement strategy and operating model in partnership with Finance and Operations ensuring STR has scalable compliant and cost-effective sourcing and purchasing capabilities across indirect spend (IT facilities professional services) and direct program-related procurements where appropriate.

IP Data Rights and Product Commercialization Enablement

• Serve as the contracts lead for IP/data-rights strategy to support TES Cores and product reuse including:
  • Negotiating appropriate data rights and license terms consistent with STRs long-term product strategy
  • Ensuring STR preserves the ability to reuse improve and scale TES Cores across programs while meeting customer mission needs
  • Structuring licensing subscriptions enterprise-use rights and other commercialization-relevant terms where appropriate.
• Collaborate with Legal Finance Product and Engineering leadership to ensure contracting terms align with STRs IP governance repository strategy and emerging accounting structures for product IP.

Risk Mitigation and Decision Support

• Provide counsel on mitigating contractual risks including IP/data rights indemnity cybersecurity security/classification export controls schedule warranty acceptance pricing/payment terms and flowdowns.
• Ensure material risks and tradeoffs are clearly articulated with recommended options to senior leadership including structured decision memos when appropriate.
• Drive practical mission-aware risk allocationavoiding both unnecessary risk-taking and unnecessary conservatism that slows delivery or impedes scale.

Responsiveness Prioritization and Escalation

• Be responsive to business needs transparent about constraints and proactive in anticipating and escalating risks (capacity timing negotiation friction or customer dependencies).
• Work closely with the COOs staff to prioritize contracting actions aligned with enterprise objectives major captures product roadmaps and critical business milestones.
• Establish and enforce clear service expectations (turnaround times escalation paths and fast lanes for high-priority pursuits and prototypes).

Status Visibility Metrics and Operating Cadence

• Design and maintain simple visible status tracking for contracting actions (e.g. Received In Review With External Party Waiting on Requestor Complete).
• Provide regular visibility to the business on cycle times backlog and throughput; segment metrics by agreement type and business purpose (e.g. OT prototype FFP delivery subcontract flowdown license).
• Use metrics to drive staffing plans standard work prioritization and continuous process improvementexplicitly supporting faster pursuit cycles and faster transition from prototype to fielded capability.

Stakeholder Collaboration and External Relationships

• Build and maintain relationships with external stakeholders including acquisition executives contracting officers consortium/OT intermediaries and key primes/partners.
• Build strong internal partnerships with the COO CFO Division Leads Program Managers Capture Product leadership Security and Export Compliance.
• Advise leaders on legal/contractual implications of strategic decisions including partnering co-investment models and customer-funded R&D approaches.

Compliance Audit and Readiness

• Advise and support compliance with FAR/DFARS and other applicable regimes (export controls cybersecurity requirements security/classification obligations etc.).
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support internal and external audits and to strengthen controls and documentation quality without sacrificing speed.
• Maintain audit-ready records and ensure appropriate retention accessibility and traceability across the agreement lifecycle.

Records Management

• Organize and maintain business records concerning the agreement lifecycle ensuring appropriate retention accessibility and auditability.

Team Leadership and Continuous Improvement

• Lead develop and recruit a high-performing contracts organization that is responsive mission-oriented and business-enabling.
• Assign complex agreements to appropriately skilled contracts managers and actively develop junior staff.
• Continuously improve contracts processes templates playbooks and systems to increase quality predictability and speedsupporting product reuse and scaled delivery while maintaining compliance.

Requirements / Qualifications

• Security Clearance: Ability to obtain a TOP SECRET clearance.
• Government Contracting Expertise: Deep expertise in government contracting including FAR/DFARS and demonstrated experience with FFP strategies OTA structures and other non-traditional acquisition pathways (e.g. CSO/BAA patterns where applicable).
• TES/Product Contracting Orientation: Experience structuring agreements that support reusable software/hardware products modular delivery licensing/data rights prototyping and scaling/transition.
• Leadership: Demonstrated capability leading a functional organization supporting multiple business units balancing speed risk management and compliance.
• Business Judgment: Ability to translate strategy into practical contracting mechanisms that align incentives enable rapid execution and support margin expansion and scalability.
• Communication and Collaboration: Strong written and verbal communication; able to clearly articulate risk options and recommendations to technical business and executive stakeholders; effective partner to capture/program/product leaders.
• Operational Discipline: Demonstrated ability to implement metrics-driven operating cadences improve processes and increase throughput and predictability.

STR is a growing technology company with locations near Boston MA Arlington VA near Dayton OH Melbourne FL and Carlsbad CA. We specialize in advanced research and development for defense intelligence and national security in: cyber; next generation sensors radar sonar communications and electronic warfare; and artificial intelligence algorithms and analytics to make sense of the complexity that is exploding around us.

STRis committed to creating a collaborative learning environment that supports deep technical understanding and recognizes the contributions and achievements of all team members. Our work is challenging and we go home at night knowing that we pushed the envelope of technology and made the world safer.

STR is not just any company. Our people culture and attitude along with their unique set of skills experiences and perspectives put us on a trajectory to change the world. We cant do it alone though - we need fellow trailblazers. If you are one join our team and help to keep our society safe! Visit us more info.

STRis an equal opportunity employer. We are fully dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidate regardless of race color religion sex (including gender identity sexual orientation and pregnancy) marital status national origin age veteran status disability genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the employment process email us atand provide your contact info.

Pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations positions at STR require employees to obtain national security clearances and satisfy the requirements for compliance with export control and other applicable laws.