Senior Contracts Manager

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, comm …