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Salary: USD 175,000 - 225,000 / annual
CHAOS Industries, a defense technology company founded in 2022 and backed by $1 billion in funding from investors including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners, is seeking a Division Counsel to provide day-to-day legal support to the Radars and Aero business units. This role closes an immediate coverage gap on the Legal team and establishes the foundation for a longer-term model of dedicated counsel embedded with each business unit.
You will serve as the primary legal point of contact for assigned business units, partnering closely with business leaders on day-to-day legal and contracting needs while working alongside the broader Legal team (Deputy GC, Contracts, Trade Compliance). Key responsibilities include:
• Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts, NDAs, teaming agreements, and subcontracts
• Advising business teams on contracting risk, IP/data rights, and deal structuring; coordinating with Trade Compliance, Contracts, and outside counsel on cross-functional deals
• Reviewing and negotiating FAR/DFARS flowdowns in subcontracts and teaming agreements; supporting business development pursuits and proposal reviews
• Drafting and negotiating supply, vendor, and software or technology license agreements
• Identifying export control (ITAR/EAR) issues in deals and day-to-day business activity; coordinating with Trade Compliance on authorizations and restrictions
• Counseling engineering and program management teams on legal risk throughout program lifecycle (pursuit, proposal, execution, delivery)
• Supporting contract dispute resolution and claims, including early assessment, settlement negotiation, and coordination with outside counsel
• Supporting compliance reviews and internal investigations, including organizational conflicts of interest, gifts and business courtesies, and anti-corruption matters
• Building and maintaining contract templates, playbooks, and standard fallback positions to accelerate deal cycles
• Training business teams on contracting fundamentals, signature authority, and common legal risk areas
• Reducing outside counsel spend by bringing recurring contracting work in-house
Occasional domestic and international travel (approximately 10%) is expected. Standard office environment with no unusual physical demands.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
• J.D. and active membership in good standing in the bar of at least one U.S. state; if not admitted in California, eligibility to register as in-house counsel under California Rules of Court, rule 9.46
• At least 4 years of relevant experience in commercial contracting, preferably in aerospace/defense, government contracting, or a related technology sector
• Demonstrated experience negotiating and closing commercial agreements independently
• Working knowledge of IP and data rights issues in a technology/manufacturing context
• Strong judgment and comfort operating with significant autonomy and limited day-to-day oversight
• Must be a U.S. person as defined in 22 C.F.R. §120.62 and 15 C.F.R. § 772.1 (U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, or individual granted refugee or asylee status) or be eligible to obtain any export authorization or license required for the role, as this position requires access to technical data and technology controlled under ITAR and EAR
PREFERRED REQUIREMENTS:
• Prior experience supporting a defense, aerospace, or sensors/radar business unit
• Familiarity with U.S. Government contracting (FAR/DFARS) and export control (ITAR/EAR) considerations
• Experience working directly with engineering and business development teams
• Experience with U.S. Government data rights frameworks, including DFARS data rights clauses and SBIR data rights assertions
• Familiarity with non-traditional contracting vehicles such as Other Transaction (OT) agreements and consortium arrangements
• Experience building contract templates, playbooks, or training materials for business teams, and managing outside counsel scope and spend
