Counsel, Government Contracts

Counsel, Government Contracts Job Locations US-CA-Santa Cruz ID 2025-4247 Category Legal Type Regular Full-Time Joby Overview Imagine a piloted air taxi that takes off vertically, then quietly carries you and your fellow passengers over the congested city streets below, enabling you to spend more time with the people and places that matter most. Since 2009, our team has worked steadily to make this dream a reality. We’ve designed and tested many generations of prototype aircraft capable of serving in a network of electric air taxis. We’re looking for talented, committed individuals to join our team as we push onward toward certifying the Joby aircraft, scaling our manufacturing, and launching our initial commercial service. Overview We are seeking talented counsel with government contracts experience to join our legal team! In this role, you will advise on a broad range of government and commercial contracting-related business and regulatory issues, working directly with key business segments on legal strategy and providing day-to-day support. Successful candidates will demonstrate strong, practical knowledge of government contract and trade risk rules and regulations, a desire for significant responsibility and a fast-paced work environment, the ability to manage multiple internal clients and priorities, and excellent analytical and communication skills. Responsibilities • Advise on all aspects of government contracting-related business and regulatory issues, including legal strategy and day-to-day support for government and general commercial contract negotiation, performance, administration, modification, and termination; claims; and investigations and disclosures. • Act as a strategic business partner to government affairs, engineering, and other functional teams in navigating the procurement process and drafting, reviewing, and negotiating government contracts, subcontracts, cooperative agreements, and modifications. • Support, train, and educate teams and develop best practices and policies to advance government contracting opportunities, strengthen partnerships, solve problems, and manage risks. • Provide counsel on compliance-related matters in a solution-oriented, business-centric way, including applicable regulations (e.g., FAR and DFARS), internal policies, audits, and reporting requirements. Effectively advise and navigate complex regulatory working closely with teams including IT, Finance, Tax, Government Affairs, and Engineering. • Represent Joby in external legal issues in government contracts negotiations and administration. • Serve as lead counsel on U.S. and global trade regimes, including export controls (EAR/ITAR) and classification ( ECCN/USML), OFAC sanctions, and cross-border investment restrictions. • Monitor and interpret geopolitical developments (e.g., U.S.-China, MEA, Russia, APAC) and translate them into clear, actionable guidance for business teams. • Build and maintain scalable legal frameworks to manage evolving government contract and trade risk in our global operations. • Partner with Policy, Legal, Security, Product, and regional legal teams to ensure coordinated responses to regulatory change and enforcement trends. • Support audit readiness, regulator engagement, and internal training across the enterprise as needed. Required • JD from an accredited law school and admission to practice law in at least one US jurisdiction. • Minimum 5 years of experience practicing law with a focus on government contracts, preferably with in-house experience. • Strong and practical knowledge of US Federal Acquisition Regulations, the Defense Federal Regulation Acquisition Regulation Supplement, and other contracting and subcontracting regulatory compliance matters including ITAR, EAR, FCPA, cost accounting, and cyber and physical security requirements. • Export Control Requirements: This position also requires access to export-controlled information or items that require “US Person” status. As defined by US law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a US person: (1) US citizens, (2) lawful permanent residents, and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 USC 1324b(a)(3). • Security Clearance: This position requires the ability to obtain a US Security Clearance for which the US Government requires US Citizenship. Desired • Familiarity with intellectual property and data rights protection strategies, licensing terms, FOIA, FOCI, supplier arrangements, asset purchases, and joint ventures and other business combinations. • Experience working with aviation/aerospace, defense, or technology industries. • Desire for significant responsibility and ability to manage multiple, complex contracts and different internal clients in a fast-paced environment. • Excellent communication, negotiation, and analytic skills. • Experience with global sanctions and export control laws outside the U.S. (e.g. European Union and Asia) is a plus. • An active U.S. Department of Defense security clearance at the Secret level or higher. • Experience handling matters involving export, trade embargoes and sanctions. Additional Information Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $153,000 - $230,100/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more. Joby is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Options Apply for this job onlineApply Share Sorry the Share function is not working properly at this moment. Please refresh the page and try again later. Share on your newsfeed If you have questions about our online applications, please see our application FAQ. Apply tot his job