Job Summary

Wanna join the adventure

The Senior Contracts Manager will lead and manage all contractual activities at Orbitworks with a focus on complex high-value procurements and customer agreements. This role will serve as the primary owner of contract strategy across the business defining commercial standards templates negotiation frameworks and risk positions for both suppliers and customers. This position requires strong contractual expertise commercial judgment and the ability to operate in a technically driven environment within the space industry.

About this role:

Contract Lifecycle Management

Own the full lifecycle of contracts including drafting negotiation execution and amendments

Develop and standardize contract templates playbooks and baseline commercial positions

Ensure alignment with company objectives compliance requirements and risk tolerance

Supplier & Procurement Contracts

Lead negotiations for complex high-value procurements (e.g. satellite buses subsystems payloads launch services ground station services)

Partner with Engineering to ensure technical scope and specifications are clearly defined

Work closely with Supply Chain and Program teams to align contract terms with schedule cost and risk objectives

Customer Contracts

Structure and negotiate customer agreements for hardware and services

Support Sales and leadership in shaping commercially sound deal structures

Ensure customer contracts protect company IP liability positions and delivery risk

Risk & Commercial Strategy

Identify contractual risks and define mitigation strategies

Manage liability allocation warranties termination clauses export control considerations and flow-down requirements

Develop negotiation frameworks that support long-term scalability

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Partner with Finance Engineering Legal Supply Chain and Program Management

Translate contractual terms into operationally enforceable outcomes

Ensure contract obligations are clearly understood across teams

Market & Industry Awareness

Stay informed on industry trends regulatory requirements and evolving space market dynamics

Provide commercial insights and recommendations to leadership

Must Haves:

10 years of experience in contract management within the space industry or similarly complex technical industries
Proven experience negotiating large custom multi-million dollar procurements and customer contracts
Strong understanding of satellite systems or related space technologies
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with engineering teams on technical scope
Solid working knowledge of contract law principles
Experience working with international suppliers and customers (U.S. and Europe preferred)
Experience negotiating with large organizations
Strong communication and negotiation skills

Nice to Haves:

Experience in space aerospace or deep-tech industries
Background supporting Supply Chain in complex procurement environments
Experience in start-up or scaling environments
Strong commercial judgment
Comfortable navigating ambiguity in a growing company
Confident negotiator able to balance risk and speed

Orbitworks mission is to make space simple for organizations that want to deploy physical and virtual missions to space. Building on Loft Orbitals heritage Orbitworks will be the first commercial firm in the United Arab Emirates to mass-manufacture satellites. Orbitworks aims to manufacture tens of satellites annually and operates out of a 50000-square-foot facility in Abu Dhabi.

Required Experience:

Manager

Wanna join the adventureThe Senior Contracts Manager will lead and manage all contractual activities at Orbitworks with a focus on complex high-value procurements and customer agreements. This role will serve as the primary owner of contract strategy across the business defining commercial standards...