Senior Legal Counsel II

The posting, as Rocket Lab wrote it

ABOUT ROCKET LAB

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

SENIOR LEGAL COUNSEL II

Based on site at Rocket Lab's Headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Senior Counsel will play a key role in supporting the Legal Department and functional and program management teams across the organization. This role is ideal for a mid-level attorney with experience in contract drafting and negotiations, dispute resolution, and regulatory compliance. The successful candidate will provide strategic legal advice to senior management for a publicly traded company performing U.S. Government contracts, to ensure compliance and support the company’s growth and innovation.

WHAT YOU’LL GET TO DO

Manage contractual and operational legal matters for the company, as well as provide legal support for mergers and acquisition transactions, litigation matters and other compliance requirements. This includes:

• Leadership & Strategic Advisory:
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and business unit and operational leadership; translate business objectives into clear legal strategies and pragmatic risk mitigation.
• Lead contract and trade compliance teams; set goals, coach performance, and foster a culture of accountability and inclusion.
• Manage external counsel relationships and budgets, focusing on reviewing legal bills and keeping costs under control.
• Establish and continuously improve legal processes, policies, and templates to scale support across the enterprise.
• Commercial and Government Contracts (Sales, Procurement, Operations):
• Draft, review, and negotiate a broad range of agreements, including prime contracts with the US Government and subcontracts for work under US government prime contracts, Master Service Agreements, IP licensing, non-disclosure agreements, real property leases and strategic partnership agreements.
• Create and implement contract playbooks, fallback positions, templates, and clause libraries to streamline cycles.
• Collaborate with business teams to balance risk with speed-to-value; maintain visibility into obligations and renewals.
• Compliance and Trade Compliance (Sanctions, Export Controls, Customs & Ethics):
• Advise on global trade compliance frameworks (e.g., sanctions screening, EAR/ITAR classifications, licensing, technology transfers, restricted party screening, customs valuation/origin/marking).
• Develop and maintain policies, SOPs, and training; support audits and investigations; remediate findings.
• Monitor regulatory developments and industry trends; proactively update policies and training.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration & Enablement:
• Partner with Finance (pricing, revenue recognition, indemnities/limitations), IT/Se

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admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here .

Rocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation for the application/interview process for a job in the United States should contact Giulia Johnson at g.biow@rocketlabusa.com. This dedicated resource is intended solely to assist job seekers with disabilities whose disability prevents them from being able to apply/interview. Only messages left for this purpose will be considered. A response to your request may take up to two business days.

FOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN NEW ZEALAND OFFICES ONLY:

For security reasons, background checks will be undertaken prior to any employment offers being made to an applicant. These checks will include nationality checks as it is a requirement of this position that you be eligible to access equipment and data regulated by the United States' International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Under these Regulations, you may be ineligible for this role if you do not hold citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a country that is part of NATO, or if you hold ineligible dual citizenship or nationality. For more information on these Regulations, click here ITAR Regulations.