Head of Legal in Denver, Colorado at Parallax Space, Inc.

Parallax Space is building critical mission infrastructure to enable rapid, reliable, and scalable access to space. We partner with commercial, civil, and government customers to deliver integrated payload solutions and hosted mission capabilities that close critical gaps in the modern space architecture.

Our focus is on delivering high-TRL systems at scale through a tech-enabled manufacturing and engineering model that enables repeatable, mission-ready performance.

Position Summary

Parallax Space seeks a business-oriented Head of Legal to establish and lead its legal function as the company scales satellite platforms, mission systems, and critical space hardware through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. This leader will serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO and executive team, translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into practical business decisions, and build an efficient legal operating model. The role combines hands-on commercial execution with corporate governance, government contracting, M&A, intellectual property, and aerospace regulatory oversight.

Key Responsibilities

Executive counsel and governance: Advise the CEO, executive leadership, and board on strategic transactions, material risks, fiduciary matters, corporate structure, governance policies, entity management, board materials, and approval processes.

Commercial and customer contracts: Lead drafting, negotiation, and administration of complex customer, supplier, teaming, licensing, nondisclosure, development, manufacturing, launch-related, and strategic partnership agreements; establish contract playbooks, approval thresholds, and escalation paths.

Government contracting: Advise on U.S. federal contracting matters, including FAR/DFARS flowdowns, contract terms, IP/data rights, organizational conflicts of interest, subcontracting, disputes, claims, and engagement with contracting specialists and outside counsel.

M&A and corporate transactions: Serve as legal lead on acquisition strategy and execution, including letters of intent, due diligence, deal documentation, employment and retention arrangements, integration, subsidiary governance, and post-close risk management; partner with the CFO and external advisors.

Regulatory and compliance: Oversee legal aspects of export controls (ITAR/EAR), sanctions, anti-corruption, privacy, cybersecurity-related contractual obligations, labor and employment, and applicable aerospace/space-sector licensing requirements, coordinating with designated compliance and technical owners.

Intellectual property and technology: Develop an IP protection and commercialization strategy covering patents, trade secrets, trademarks, software, technical data, licensing, invention assignment, and third-party rights; work with engineering, product, and outside IP counsel.

Disputes and risk management: Manage litigation, investigations, claims, contract disputes, insurance-related legal matters, and legal risk assessments; prioritize early resolution and clear executive decision support.

Legal operations and outside counsel: Build scalable legal intake, contract templates, repositories, policies, records retention, delegation of authority, and metrics; select and manage outside counsel with disciplined budgets and appropriate specialty support.

Cross-functional partnership: Partner with finance, business development, program management, operations, human resources, engineering, and security to support fast, informed decisions without compromising ethics or compliance.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school and active membership in good standing in at least one U.S. state bar; ability to advise on matters in relevant jurisdictions directly or through appropriately licensed counsel.

• 10+ years of relevant legal experience, including significant in-house leadership or equivalent experience advising scaling technology, aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or government contracting businesses.

• Demonstrated ability to independently negotiate complex commercial contracts and guide executive teams through material legal and business risk decisions.

• Working knowledge of government contracting frameworks, export controls, IP/data rights, corporate governance, and acquisition transactions; expertise in aerospace and defense strongly preferred.

• Pragmatic judgment, executive presence, strong writing and negotiation skills, high integrity, and ability to prioritize in a fast-moving, resource-constrained environment.

• Experience building legal processes and managing outside counsel; willingness to be hands-on while scaling the function.

Preferred Experience

Experience leading complex commercial contracting across customer and supplier agreements, including negotiated terms for hardware sales, manufacturing and development services, licensing, strategic partnerships, pricing and payment, warranties, indemnities, limitation of liability, and intellectual property/data rights. Experience with venture-backed or private-equity-backed growth companies, buy-and-build strategies, domestic or cross-border M&A, space-sector licensing and launch/customer arrangements, government security requirements, and preparing organizations for larger institutional investors or public-company-level governance.

Measures of Success

Commercial agreements executed with predictable cycle times and appropriate risk allocation; sound board and entity governance; effective M&A diligence and integration support; audit-ready legal documentation and compliance coordination; protected intellectual property; controlled outside counsel spend; a practical, trusted legal function that enables business growth.

Parallax Space is an equal opportunity employer. Employment terms, location, compensation and benefits will be specified in the applicable posting or offer.