The Role
The Legal Director will lead transactional legal support for microgrid and energy center projects, contract negotiations, compliance oversight, and strategic advisory while managing external counsel and optimizing legal processes.
Summary Generated by Built In
The Role
We are looking for a Legal Director to serve as one of the company’s primary transactional attorneys. You will support our continuing expansion into the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) space and energy infrastructure for data centers.
Reporting to the General Counsel, you’ll work a hybrid schedule in either our Ridgewood, NJ, HQ, our NYC office (Union Square area), or our California offices (Oakland and Santa Monica).
Key responsibilities will include:
- Microgrid & Data Center Architecture: Support our business development and other cross-functional teams involved in deploying complex microgrid, energy center, and power infrastructure offerings tailored for data centers and large-scale industrial facilities.
- Commercial Contract Negotiation: Lead legal negotiations for a wide range of industry contracts, including Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Microgrid/Energy Services Agreements (MSAs/ESAs); Real property leases, easements, and licenses; Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC), equipment purchase, asset management, and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) agreements; Hedges of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and other environmental attributes; Membership Interest Purchase Agreements (MIPAs) and Development Services Agreements (DSAs).
- Project Finance Alignment: Ensure all project and energy agreements strictly conform to project financing requirements.
- Regulatory & Compliance Oversight: Support the management of compliance matters related to licensing and registrations, industry rules/regulations (e.g., FERC, RTOs/ISOs), and evolving policy frameworks impacting data centers and microgrids.
- Strategic Advisory: Provide regulatory, permitting, and policy guidance/training on pertinent topics for cross-functional teams to streamline project development.
- External Counsel Management: Manage engagements with outside counsel when needed, balancing time, efficiency, and expertise with the cost of such engagements.
- Diligence & Acquisitions: Support acquisition and financing activities, including performing early-stage legal diligence on target assets, portfolios, or developers, and assisting in negotiations with third-party financiers.
- Process Optimization: Propose and implement process improvements related to legal document management and contractual workflows to help the business scale efficiently.
The Ideal Candidate
- Possess a JD from an accredited law school and be barred in at least one US state
- 7+ years post-JD transactional experience, or 5+ years of transactional experience from a nationally recognized law firm
- Extensive experience structuring and negotiating arrangements in the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) space, and/or the specialized development and power procurement frameworks required for data centers.
- Deep understanding of the U.S. energy landscape, grid interconnection, and utility dynamics.
- Substantive experience negotiating relevant industry contracts, including utility, power purchase, energy services, off-taker agreements, or other customer contracts.
- Exceptional business acumen, critical thinking skills, and professional cadence
- Ability to manage ambiguity and communicate complex legal concepts and strategic goals in a simplified manner to non-lawyers
- Strong negotiation skills
- Proven ability to manage multiple projects and priorities, work independently, and operate in a fast-paced, dynamic, entrepreneurial environment
This is a great opportunity to have a long-term impact on a fast-paced, private equity-backed growth business. Some of the core virtues embraced by Scales’ employees include:
· Do the Right Thing
· Act Like an Owner
· Hustle
· Demand Results
· Go Together
· Evolve or Disappear
We offer a competitive compensation package and a comprehensive benefits program including medical benefits, paid vacation and holidays, and 401K matching.
About Scale Microgrids
Scale is redefining resilience, with advanced microgrids that go beyond traditional backup power solutions to give businesses the power to adapt and thrive amid all of today’s growing energy challenges. As a vertically-integrated provider of turnkey advanced microgrid systems, Scale combines project design, engineering, and execution expertise with microgrid-as-a-service financing to offer our customers systems that are optimized to deliver maximum value from day one while ensuring ultra-reliable operations and fast time-to-power.
Scale is backed by EQT, a firm with ~$250B in assets, bringing a depth of experience, resources, and capital that will enable Scale to continue pursuing our vision of powering the world with distributed energy. The investment enables Scale to own and operate billions of dollars in distributed generation assets. To learn more about Scale Microgrids, please visit https://www.scalemicrogrids.com.
About EQT
EQT is a leading purpose-driven global investment organization with EUR 246 billion in total assets under management, divided into two business segments: Private Capital and Real Assets. EQT owns portfolio companies and assets in Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Americas and supports them in achieving sustainable growth, operational excellence, and market leadership. To learn more about EQT, please visit https://eqtgroup.com.
Scale strives to attract and retain a workforce that reflects the composition of our customer base and communities. We are committed to providing a work environment that provides everyone with equal access and opportunity to contribute and drive meaningful outcomes. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply and will consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
Skills Required
- JD from an accredited law school
- Barred in at least one US state
- 7+ years post-JD transactional experience or 5+ years from a recognized law firm
- Experience in Commercial & Industrial space and energy procurement for data centers
- Understanding of U.S. energy landscape and utility dynamics
- Strong negotiation skills
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The Company
What We Do
The future of humanity is dependent on making our energy infrastructure cleaner, more affordable, and more resilient. Microgrids are a key component of the solution. We build the world’s most cutting-edge microgrid solutions.
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