Senior Counsel, Real Estate

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Salary Range: $200,000 - $225,000 plus bonus and incentive stock options

Reports to: General Counsel

Location: Brooklyn, NY (Hybrid)

About The Company:

NineDot's name derives from the classic mathematical puzzle for sparking out-of-the-box solutions. As a leading community-scale, clean energy developer with a growing portfolio of projects across a range of technologies, NineDot Energy is creating innovative energy solutions that support a more resilient electric grid, deliver economic savings, address environmental justice and reduce carbon emissions. We plan to develop, build and operate more than 400 MW of clean energy systems by 2026 that will strengthen the local power grid infrastructure and provide clean, reliable and resilient power to tens of thousands of New York households and businesses. This is all in support of New York State’s mission to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040.

With the backing of Manulife Investment Management and The Carlyle Group - two of the world’s leading infrastructure investors - NineDot is continuing to expand its core battery energy storage pipeline, deliver enhanced products and services, explore new regions and consider potential acquisitions all to advance the decarbonization of New York’s grid. This is an exciting opportunity to build a platform from the ground-up with a world-class team of developers and innovators. NineDot is committed to building a company that exemplifies diversity, equity and inclusion values in its team culture, as well as business practices and community engagement.

Job Summary

Our Legal team is looking to hire a highly skilled and experienced Senior Counsel, Real Estate to lead and manage the legal aspects of real estate transactions critical to NineDot’s clean energy development pipeline. This role will be a key partner to our Origination, Development, and Project Execution teams, advising on and negotiating site control documents, property acquisitions, leases, easements, title and survey matters, access agreements, and related work.

The ideal candidate will bring significant commercial real estate experience, ideally within the renewable energy or infrastructure sectors, and a strong ability to balance legal precision with practical, business-minded judgment.

Responsibilities:

• Draft, review, and negotiate a variety of real estate documents, including site control agreements, site leases, purchase and sale agreements, easements, access agreements, license agreements, and related amendments or terminations.
• Lead legal due diligence for project sites, including review of title reports, surveys, zoning issues, and environmental and land use constraints.
• Work closely with internal teams to ensure alignment of real estate terms with project development, interconnection, engineering, and construction requirements.
• Manage relationships with title companies, surveyors, and local counsel to address title curative matters and close transactions.
• Provide legal guidance on land use, permitting, and municipal approvals affecting project sites.
• Support negotiations with landowners, landlords, and local stakeholders to facilitate timely and effective project development.
• Develop and implement standard real estate agreement templates and processes to streamline transactions and mitigate risk.
• Collaborate cross-functionally on broader legal issues such as project finance, entity formation, and M&A as needed.
• Stay current on trends in real estate law, land use regulations, and energy project development.
• Other duties as assigned.

Core Competencies:

• Collaborates - Building partnerships and working collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives.
• Drives Results - Constantly achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
• Interpersonal Savvy - Relating openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people.
• Cultivates Innovation - Creating new and better ways for the organization to be successful.
• Financial Acumen - Interpreting and applying understanding of key financial indicators to make better business decisions.
• Strategic Mindset - Seeing ahead to future possibilities and translating them into breakthrough strategies.
• Optimizes Work Processes - Knowing the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement.

Required education and experience:

• Law degree from an accredited law school; Bar admission with good standing to practice law in New York.
• 7+ years of relevant experience in real estate transactions at a top-tier law firm, energy company, or infrastructure developer.
• Strong experience negotiating and closing commercial leases, purchase agreements, and easements, especially for infrastructure or utility-scale projects.
• Familiarity with title/survey review, zoning issues, and land use due diligence.
• Experience with distributed energy resources (e.g., battery storage or solar) is a nice-to-have but not required.
• Collaborative, curious, and a strong communicator of legal advice.
• Hardworking, responsive and adaptable to what the situation dictates, including possessing the diligence to advance matters independently, combined with the strong interpersonal skills to work effectively in a diverse team.
• Experience managing and documenting complex transactions.
• The ability to identify and implement practical solutions to complex business and legal problems.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.  

At NineDot Energy, we believe diverse perspectives drive innovation and are the foundation of our success. As such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender expression, gender identity, age, or any other status of an individual or that individual’s associates or relatives that is protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

If you're passionate about this role but don’t meet every qualification listed, we still encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other opportunities with us. We’re committed to building a team that reflects a broad range of experiences, backgrounds, and skills.

NineDot Employee benefits include but are not limited to:

• Medical, dental and vision coverage
• 5% employer match on your 401k retirement account
• 20 paid vacation days off, plus 7 sick days, 9 federal holidays and 3 personal floating holidays
• 12 weeks of 100% paid parental leave for both the primary and secondary care giver within the first year of birth or adoption
• Wellness initiatives including a $1,000 stipend
• 16 volunteer hours plus two planned company-wide volunteer outings per year