Senior Contracts Specialist

Scout Space is building a new way to see and operate in space: with a new paradigm of data empowering every satellite to make space safer. We are a rapidly-growing team; we are deploying real solutions to orbit over the next 2 years; and our work will transform the face of spaceflight. We are looking for people that bring excitement and energy to our organization, are curious and eager to learn, and want to help drive our programs forward.

Scout Space is seeking a mission-driven Senior Contracts Specialist with deep expertise in government and commercial contracting to lead the full lifecycle of contractual activities across Scout’s rapidly expanding SDA, autonomy, and hosted payload programs. This role will be instrumental in shaping Scout’s contracting strategy, ensuring compliance, enabling program execution, and securing agreements that support Scout’s growth within the Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community (IC), NASA, and commercial space sectors.

• Serve as Scout’s primary contracts lead for government and commercial agreements, including FAR/DFARS-based contracts, OT/OTA agreements, SBIR/STTR awards, STRATFI/TACFI efforts, and multi-year payload hosting partnerships.

• Review solicitations, amendments, and RFP/RFQ requirements to identify contractual risks, compliance obligations, and negotiation strategies.

• Lead the development and review of proposal volumes, cost/pricing structures, data-rights positions, and contractual terms in coordination with Product, Program Management, and Engineering teams.

• Support subcontracting efforts with large primes, including negotiating subcontract terms, shaping data-rights positions, managing pre-award flow-down reviews, and coordinating compliance documentation to ensure Scout’s technical, schedule, and business interests are protected.

• Manage post-award subcontractor and supplier execution, including administering flow-down requirements, monitoring compliance, tracking deliverables, and mitigating contract-related risks across Scout’s hardware and software development programs.

• Draft, review, and negotiate a wide range of agreements, including NDAs, teaming agreements, MOUs, subcontracts, terms & conditions, licensing agreements, and hosted payload agreements, ensuring alignment with Scout’s business, technical, and legal positions.

• Manage contract administration activities post-award, including deliverables, modifications, funding increments, option years, invoicing coordination, and required reporting.

• Ensure compliance with FAR/DFARS, agency supplements, ITAR/EAR, NIST 800-171/CUI handling requirements, and other acquisition or security-related regulations.

• Develop and maintain contract files, documentation, templates, and internal contracting processes supportive of audit readiness and scalable growth.

• Support executive leadership in the strategic planning of contracting pathways for emerging Scout capabilities, including GEO and cislunar SDA deployments, autonomy testbeds, and multi-host payload strategies.

• 7+ years of experience in government contracting, subcontract administration, or contracts management within the aerospace, defense, national security, or dual-use technology sectors.

• Direct experience working with U.S. Government customers such as SSC, SDA, DIU, AFRL, NASA, NRO, NGA, or other defense/intelligence organizations.

• Strong working knowledge of FAR/DFARS, government acquisition processes, SBIR/BAA structures, OT/OTA agreements, and IP/data-rights frameworks.

• Demonstrated experience negotiating complex contract terms, pricing structures, and flow-down requirements with government agencies, large primes, and commercial partners.

• Ability to manage multiple concurrent proposals and contract actions in a fast-paced environment.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and the ability to translate complex requirements into actionable guidance for internal teams.

• Eligibility to maintain a Security Clearance.

• Active or inactive TS/SCI clearance.

• Experience establishing or managing DCMA/DCAA-compliant systems (e.g., procurement, property, timekeeping) in a small business…