Associate General Counsel (Government)

As Associate General Counsel (Government) at Impulse, you are an integral part of our Legal team responsible for identifying and managing risks across the organization to ensure the Company is adequately protected through its growth stages. Your core responsibilities will be to negotiate and ensure compliance with government contracts, manage spacecraft regulatory licensing filings and prosecution, and oversee the Company’s trade compliance program.

NOTE: This position is on-site or partial-remote.

Responsibilities

• Manage the negotiation of federal government proposals, RFPs, and government contracting agreements, ensuring that all terms and conditions align with the Company’s requirements.
• Provide expert legal advice on government contracting processes, including FAR and DFARS regulations, and represent the company in government-related negotiations and disputes.
• Oversee all aspects of the company’s trade compliance program, including jurisdiction and classification analysis, export control, and Technology Control Plans (TCP).
• Stay informed on applicable laws, regulations, and industry guidance that impact our Company’s core spacecraft product lines.
• Draft, review, and negotiate government contracts and subcontracts, focusing on minimizing legal and financial risk while maximizing business opportunity.
• Manage spacecraft regulatory licensing filings and approvals with government agencies, including the FCC, NOAA, and FAA, ensuring compliance with applicable domestic and international regulations.
• Respond promptly to legal requests and questions from the business and other stakeholders, including at the executive level, summarizing, and communicating regulatory requirements in a clear, concise, succinct, and business-friendly way.
• Monitor and advise on legislative and regulatory changes affecting government contracts and space regulatory requirements, ensuring that internal stakeholders are aware and prepared for changes.
• Oversee compliance policies and procedures for government contracting and regulatory matters, ensuring the company’s adherence to applicable laws and regulations.

Minimum Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited legal program and member of the California bar in good standing.
• 8+ years of total experience supporting government or aerospace regulatory matters.
• 2+ years of in-house experience.
• Demonstrated record of success focusing on government and regulatory compliance.
• Track record of effectively navigating opportunities, headwinds, and strategic shifts that are common in an early-stage business.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience negotiating and/or overseeing a complete government contracting lifecycle.
• Experience managing export compliance and approval of export authorizations, ideally as an empowered official as part of a company’s trade compliance program.
• Experience working in or with the aerospace and/or the automotive industry.
• Pragmatic, business mindset.

Additional Information

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay are determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities, and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence, and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

About Impulse Space

Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.

Learn more here