Director of Contracts Job Arlington area,Virginia USA,Business

Director Of Contracts

At Forterra, we are unleashing autonomy at scale to transform the battlefield. Our mission is to build the foundational platforms that enable an intelligent ecosystem to coordinate, adapt, and execute with speed and precision even in the uncertainty and disruption of modern conflict. In an era marked by rapid technological change and evolving threats, we design for flexibility, survivability, and operational dominance.

Forterra delivers weapons, sensors, and battlefield effects through integrated autonomous networks reaching operational areas faster, safer, and without placing human lives systems operate with distributed control, dynamic routing, and real-time responsiveness, enabling sustained advantage across complex mission environments.

About the Role

The Forterra Contracts team seeks a Director of Contracts to own the full spectrum of the company's government contracting activity. This includes shaping deal structure during capture, negotiating and executing awards, administering performance and compliance, advising growth and business development and proposal teams on contract vehicles and acquisition strategy, and managing the subcontract and teaming portfolio that supports program delivery. The Contracts team partners closely with Legal, Finance, Program Management, and Engineering, as well as with government customers and industry partners, to move Forterra's technology into operational settings.

Forterra is a fast-growing company at the early stages of growth. Consistent with this fast growth, members of our Contracts team must be resourceful, creative, and eager to take ownership of complex matters. This role requires fluency across the full range of acquisition instruments, including FAR-based contracts, Other Transactions, commercial agreements, IDIQs and task orders, and grants and cooperative agreements, along with the judgment to select the instrument that will field capability fastest.

You will also assist building the systems, templates, and processes that allow the contracts function to scale with the business. Experience across every one of these areas is not expected, but a willingness to learn and adapt is.

What You'll Do

Own Forterra's contracts function as a leader on a small, dynamic team. You will set the strategy, standards, and processes for how the company contracts with its customers and partners.

Take responsibility for significant, material agreements that directly determine the company's revenue, runway, and ability to field capability.

Drive customer growth by structuring and executing new government awards and expanding existing ones. Use your expertise in federal acquisition to help the Business Development, Proposal, and Engineering teams select the right contract vehicle and instrument, position for follow-on scope, and avoid the structural mistakes that stall programs. Advise on acquisition strategy beginning at the earliest stages of capture.

Manage relationships with contracting officers, agreements officers, and procurement offices across the government. High-trust professional relationships with government contracting and procurement offices are critical to Forterra's continued success, and you will be called upon to develop and foster these relationships throughout your tenure.

Lead day-to-day management of the entire acquisition lifecycle. Review and shape proposals and pricing volumes, lead negotiations on terms, data rights, and intellectual property, administer awards through performance, resolve issues and requests for equitable adjustment, identify risks and mitigations, and ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and contract terms.

Build and manage the subcontracts and teaming portfolio, including NDAs, teaming agreements, subcontracts, and flow downs. Represent the contracts function with vendors, primes, partners, engineers, executives, and customers.

Minimum Qualifications

Describe the experience, education, and skills of what is required for this position
Please include expectations of travel. IE:
Ability to work remotely with up to 30% travel
8+ years of federal contracting or acquisition experience, in government, industry, or a combination of both
Demonstrated command of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and DFARS, including contract types, competitive procedures, and cost and price analysis
Working knowledge of government data rights and intellectual property under DFARS 252.227, and the ability to negotiate them
Experience leading…