Legal Counsel - US Government Contracts

Title:  Legal Counsel, US Government Contracts 
Reports to: General Counsel   
Entity: LCC   
Group: Legal, Contracts and Compliance 
Capability: Legal
Level: Senior Director   
Work arrangement:  Hybrid 

Company Overview 

Metrea delivers effects-as-a-service to national security partners across five domains and more than a dozen mission areas—including airborne ISR, electronic warfare, secure communications, aerial refueling, special mission aviation, aerial firefighting, and advanced simulation.  

Wherever we operate, we build vertically integrated full stacks of capability—designing, building, and operating turnkey solutions that let customers scale capacity while benefiting from continuous cycles of innovation. With operators and engineers under one roof, we close the gap between lab and field—what we call connecting design with effect.  

Metrea’s solutions are built for elegance: effective, efficient, and evolving. This approach enables our partners to do more with less and achieve outsized, asymmetric advantage against rapidly evolving threats.  

Headquartered in Washington, DC, Metrea has facilities across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond. 

Support Groups 

Special Air Missions Group (SAM) is responsible for developing and delivering Metrea’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Special Mobility, and Aerial Firefighting (AFF) capabilities. SAM oversees the integration of new mission systems, ensuring operational readiness across specialized aviation operations. It manages fleet maintenance, regulatory compliance, and strategic partnerships to enhance mission effectiveness. By consolidating expertise and infrastructure, SAM ensures Metrea’s  
 airborne capabilities remain adaptable and mission-ready across dynamic operational environments. 
  
The Digital and Synthetic Capability Unit (D&S) is committed to providing mission-driven information solutions that seamlessly bridge the digital and physical realms. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies and advanced platforms, we empower operational readiness and elevate situational awareness across diverse domains—including air, maritime, and space. 
  
Air Mobility Group (AIRMOB) is responsible for developing and delivering Metrea’s aerial refueling (AAR) capabilities, ensuring the readiness and operational effectiveness of the tanker fleet. AIRMOB oversees fleet management, maintenance, and airworthiness, working to sustain and enhance refueling operations. It manages the integration of new processes and technologies, ensuring that tanker aircraft remain mission-ready through effective logistics, maintenance oversight, and regulatory compliance. By coordinating across various teams, AIRMOB ensures the fleet meets both current and future operational needs, supporting a range of specialized air mobility missions.  

Electromagnetic and Cyber Group (EM&C) is responsible for developing flexible and survivable advanced electronic warfare and secure communications equipment while providing the industry’s leading signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and cyber experts.  Metrea specializes in signal classification, direction finding, advanced geolocation techniques, and waveform development including waveforms for MANET and LPI/LPD applications. Metrea also develops special purpose radios for government customers and licenses DF and geolocation solutions to multiple OEMs.  

Position Summary  

Metrea is looking for an experienced qualified attorney to be principally based out of our Washington D.C. office with the expectation of travel and support of a global enterprise. 

The candidate for this position will have multiple years of experience in U.S. Government Contracts, principally in the defense and classified areas, with a deep understanding of the legal risks and issues including the negotiation, drafting, and closing of a wide variety of such contracts. The candidate will have experience of working in the classified world, the rules and requirements of doing so, and is comfortable with that work with a practical focus on how to get things done within those rules and requirements. Counsel will be expected to work closely with the strategy and solutions teams in developing elegant solutions to customer needs as well as with file and group leads in assessing existing work and contracts as to ongoing legal and contract risks.  Broad general experience with all types of government and commercial contracts and subcontracts, related intellectual property issues including data rights protection of enterprise IP as well as licenses and assignments, and assessment of possible litigation risks and strategies related to this work. Experience supporting FCLs and working closely with SMOs and FSOs is required. Experience with the security requirements of the United Kingdom, the European Union, and other countries would be particularly useful. 

What You’ll Do
 
Counsel will work with our experienced and talented contracts team alongside various Metrea Capability Areas. Counsel will need to learn the various work streams and requirements of the enterprise and how it may impact related contracts and security requirements. Depending on the workload and growth, it is expected that this role will may involve helping the General Counsel build out a team and working with the Head of Contracts regarding related contract personnel. Based out of the Washington D.C. office, the hybrid role will likely require domestic and possible international travel as well as work with a wide variety of team members, banks, lawyers, and various governmental agencies to address all of the legal issues that arise.  

Additionally, as a Counsel, there will be a wide variety of additional legal support that may be required in litigation, merger and acquisitions, as well as various types of transactions. Support for a wide variety of commercial transactions and contracts may be required. Being able to explain how security concerns and requirements may be impacted by any of these types of transactions will be an important part of this role. 
 
The Metrea LCC team is small, agile, and responsive, which literally requires going wherever the enterprise needs support and guidance. Diverse projects and issues will sometimes require work on areas of law that are not always in the job description, but which make for a well-rounded, deeply experienced team of lawyers. 
 
Being comfortable with multiple shifting, sometimes competing, priorities is fundamental within the LCC team. This is also a team which looks to support each other through regular interaction with each other and with the enterprise. This is not an “ivory tower” legal team. Being involved in the business to understand developing legal risks and providing counsel is critical to the LCC team’s success.

What You’ll bring 

• Be a qualified licensed attorney with graduation from an ABA accredited law school and admitted to the bar in at least one state and/or Washington D.C. and in good standing or otherwise authorized to practice law. 
• U.S. Top Secret Security Clearance with SCI availability required 
• Experience and understanding of U.S. Security classifications and requirements 
• Experience in negotiating, drafting, and supporting United States government contracts 
• Experience in U.S. security agency audits  
• Experience in working in and supporting SKIFs and other physical and cyber security requirements 
• Experience with obtaining clearances for facilities and maintaining those clearances for the facilities and individuals 
• Experience in negotiating and drafting consultant agreements and other related service-related agreements. 
• Aviation and Defense experience 
• Litigation assessment and risk analysis on a wide variety of contracts including negotiation and resolution of claims and lawsuits.  
• Experience with negotiating and enforcing contracts across US and foreign jurisdictions and supporting global enterprises. 
• Seasoned commercial awareness. 
• Experience interacting and counseling senior business leaders. 

Additional Eligibility Qualifications  

• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally. 
• Comfortable working with ambiguity in a fluid environment seeking to address business concerns and goals rather than just being “right”.  
• Well-developed sense of judgment and maturity.  
• Proven ability to work effectively in, and leverage a highly collaborative, matrixed environment to achieve project ends.  
• Ability to shift priorities as needed working with wide diversity of individual capability areas and individuals. 
• Build and maintain effective working relationship with external counsel and manage the engagement process with such service providers when required. 
• Ability to exercise a high level of diligence, even under time pressure.  
• Intellectually curious, with strong critical thinking & analytical skills and  
   attention to detail. 
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems and apply analytical rigor. 
• Strong communication skills – both written and verbal with the confidence to communicate with teammates at all levels of the enterprise as well as a wide variety of government agencies, banks, law firms, and other customers and vendors. 
• Strong organizational skills, discipline, with a high sense of reliability, discretion and confidentiality. 
• Ability to communicate effectively across languages, cultures, regions and industries, and experience working in diverse environments.  
• Capacity to balance strategic vs. operational mind-sets and results vs. process orientation.  
• Strong performance orientation coupled with a solid and consistent ethical compass. 
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment. 

Our Firmware  

At Metrea, our single core value, Rooted in Humility, and our four cornerstone attributes—Entrepreneurial, Systematic, Discerning, and Over-Deliver. These form what we call our Teammate Firmware. Just like technical firmware connects software and hardware, our Firmware is the constant interface between our mission and our people. It defines how we show up, how we work together, and how we solve complex problems.

Our team Firmware creates a web-like, hyper-collaborative, dynamically hierarchical way of working that helps us adapt quickly, communicate openly, and distribute decision-making to where expertise actually lives. It enables groups to self-organize around hard problems, shift fluidly as priorities evolve, and operate with the trust, curiosity, and discipline required in a complex mission space. This foundation allows us to deliver elegant, effective solutions and uphold our purpose: protecting our precious inheritance.

Benefits  

Comprehensive medical plan options

HSA/FSA accounts

Dental and vision coverage

6% employer 401(k) match

Fully paid parental leave for all new parents

Generous PTO

Life and disability insurance
Long-term and Short-term disability coverage

AD&D Coverage

Pet Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Subsided gym membership / plans through Wellhub    

Work Authorisation/Security Clearance  

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

AAP/EEO Statement  

Legal Entity is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. 

Position Type and Expected Hours of Work  

This is a full-time non exempt position with typical working hours of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hours and work shifts may change in accordance with department and business needs. 

Work Location  

Washington D.C.

Work Environment  

This job operates in an office setting