We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Senior Contracts Manager to support Australian Defence procurements, international government programs, direct commercial sales, and strategic partnerships involving complex defence products, autonomous systems, software, integration services, and sustainment support.
The Senior Contracts Manager will lead contracting activities across the full lifecycle from capture and tender development through negotiation, award, performance, change management, claims, dispute resolution, and closeout. This position will serve as a principal commercial and contractual adviser to Business Development, Programs, Finance, Legal, and Trade Compliance.
The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience with Australian Defence contracting, international commercial transactions, software development and licensing, intellectual property and technical-data rights, and product-based defence or aerospace agreements
What You’ll Do
- Lead the preparation, review, negotiation, and administration of contracts supporting Australian Defence, allied governments, prime contractors and commercial customers.
- Support Australian Government and Defence tenders, including review of solicitation requirements, preparation of compliance matrices, identification of qualifications and departures and development of commercial assumptions.
- Negotiate and administer contracts using Australian Defence contracting frameworks, including applicable ASDEFCON templates and schedules, and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
- Lead negotiations involving material commercial risks, including intellectual property, technical data, software rights, liability, indemnities, insurance, warranties, acceptance, delay, liquidated damages, performance remedies, audit rights, termination, governing law, and dispute resolution.
- Draft and negotiate international commercial agreements, including product-sale agreements, framework agreements, teaming agreements, reseller and representative or agreements, memoranda of understanding, nondisclosure agreements and statements of work.
- Negotiate software-development and licensing arrangements, including evaluation and trial licences, development licences, SDK and API access, professional services, software integration, and third-party software terms.
- Develop and negotiate intellectual-property structures addressing background and foreground IP, technical data and software rights, derivative works, improvements, interfaces, government and third-party use rights.
- Apply and negotiate the ASDEFCON Technical Data and Intellectual Property framework, including applicable Technical Data and Software Rights schedules and restrictions.
- Support contracts for complex defence products involving combinations of hardware, software, integration, testing, delivery, title and risk of loss, acceptance, warranty, product liability, repair, spares, training, field support, upgrades, and through-life sustainment.
- Administer awarded agreements by maintaining contract summaries, obligations registers, deliverable and milestone tracking, notice requirements, change-control records, funding status, claims files, correspondence, approvals, and audit-ready documentation.
- Lead contract modifications, amendments, extensions, renewals, equitable-adjustment requests, claims, settlement discussions, and contract closeout activities.
- Serve as the primary contractual interface with customers, subcontractors, suppliers, technology partners, and internal stakeholders.
- Provide training and guidance to business stakeholders on contracting requirements, delegated authority, negotiation strategy, contractual obligations, and commercial risk.
- Contribute to the continued development of scalable contracting processes, templates, playbooks, approval workflows, and contract-management tools suitable for a high-growth international defence-technology company.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in law, business, commerce, finance, engineering, supply chain, international relations, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
- At least eight years of progressively responsible contracts or commercial-management experience, including substantial experience in defence, aerospace, advanced technology, or another highly regulated product environment.
- Demonstrated experience supporting or negotiating contracts with the Australian Department of Defence, Australian Government entities, or major Australian Defence contractors.
- Practical experience with Australian Defence contracting frameworks, including ASDEFCON-based tenders or contracts and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
- Demonstrated experience negotiating and administering complex product contracts involving both hardware and software, rather than experience limited solely to consulting or professional-services agreements.
- Material experience with software-development, software-licensing, technology-integration, intellectual-property, technical-data, or data-rights agreements.
- Experience negotiating international commercial or cross-border government transactions, preferably involving Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, the United States, or allied defence markets.
- Strong understanding of contractual issues associated with product delivery, acceptance, warranty, product liability, sustainment, support, intellectual property, export control, and information security.
- Ability to independently lead complex, high-value negotiations and manage multiple concurrent transactions and contractual deadlines.
- Strong commercial judgment and the ability to translate legal, technical, operational, and regulatory requirements into practical business recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear contract language, negotiation positions, risk assessments, executive summaries, and customer correspondence.
- Ability to work effectively across different time zones and with geographically distributed teams.
- Legal authorisation to work in Australia.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in law, business, commerce, finance, engineering, supply chain, international relations, or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant professional experience.
- At least eight years of progressively responsible contracts or commercial-management experience.
- Substantial experience in defence, aerospace, advanced technology, or another highly regulated product environment.
- Experience supporting or negotiating contracts with the Australian Department of Defence, Australian Government entities, or major Australian Defence contractors.
- Practical experience with Australian Defence contracting frameworks, including ASDEFCON-based tenders or contracts and the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.
- Experience negotiating and administering complex product contracts involving both hardware and software.
- Experience with software development, software licensing, technology integration, intellectual property, technical data, or data-rights agreements.
- Experience negotiating international commercial or cross-border government transactions.
- Experience involving Australia, the Indo-Pacific region, the United States, or allied defence markets.
- Strong understanding of contractual issues involving product delivery, acceptance, warranty, product liability, sustainment, support, intellectual property, export control, and information security.
- Ability to independently lead complex, high-value negotiations and manage concurrent transactions and contractual deadlines.
- Strong commercial judgment and ability to translate legal, technical, operational, and regulatory requirements into practical recommendations.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including contract drafting, negotiation positions, risk assessments, executive summaries, and customer correspondence.
- Ability to work effectively across time zones and with geographically distributed teams.
- Legal authorization to work in Australia.
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, with dental/vision and mental‑health support, and ancillary protections like life and disability appearing in benefit summaries. The breadth and perceived affordability of coverage are highlighted as a standout component of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is featured alongside enhanced maternity benefits, fertility and childcare support, and onsite resources such as a Mother’s Room. These elements are positioned as competitive and above the minimal baseline for the company’s stage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full‑time hires, with RSUs, double‑trigger tax timing, and tools to model scenarios (e.g., through Carta Tax). Communications also reference a transition from options to RSUs, reinforcing access and maturity of ownership programs.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
