Description:
Position Summary:Blue Origin is seeking a Principal Legal Counsel to join its Legal & Compliance department as the senior legal advisor for the TeraWave business unit. This role will serve as a trusted partner to TeraWave's engineering, product, and operations teams, providing expert legal counsel on complex commercial transactions, regulatory compliance, and risk management in the satellite communications and connectivity services space. The ideal candidate brings deep subject matter expertise, strong business judgment, and the ability to manage complex, high-stakes matters in a fast-moving environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Serve as the primary legal advisor to the TeraWave business unit, providing day-to-day counsel on commercial transactions, regulatory matters, and operational legal issues
- Draft, review, and negotiate complex commercial and technology agreements, including customer master services agreements, service level agreements, capacity and throughput agreements, ground station services agreements, network services agreements, electronic hardware procurement and supply contracts, and licensing arrangements
- Coordinate with regulatory counsel on regulatory frameworks applicable to satellite, telecom, and space operations, including FCC licensing and compliance, spectrum use and coordination, ITU-related considerations, export controls (ITAR/EAR), and data privacy and security requirements for network services
- Partner cross-functionally with engineering, product, sales, operations, regulatory, and government affairs teams to identify and manage legal risk in a practical, business-focused manner
- Develop and maintain scalable contract templates, playbooks, and legal processes to support TeraWave's growth and operational needs
- Monitor and advise on evolving developments affecting satellite communications, connectivity services, and space operations
Qualifications:
Required:
- J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction, with the ability to obtain and maintain in-house counsel registration where applicable
- 12+ years of relevant legal experience, including significant time in-house or in a technology-focused law firm practice supporting complex commercial transactions for technology, network, or communications services
- Demonstrated expertise drafting and negotiating complex commercial and technology agreements relevant to satellite communications and connectivity services, including customer master services agreements, service level agreements, capacity or throughput agreements, network services, electronic hardware procurement and supply contracts, and licensing arrangements
- Familiarity with regulatory frameworks applicable to satellite, telecom, and space operations, including FCC licensing and compliance, spectrum use and coordination, ITU-related considerations, export controls (ITAR/EAR), and data privacy and security considerations for network services
- Proven ability to provide cross-functional advice and translate legal risk for engineering, product, sales, operations, regulatory, and government affairs teams
- Strong risk-spotting, practical counseling, and problem-solving skills, with the judgment to balance legal risk against business objectives
- Effective project management skills with the ability to drive matters to closure, manage outside counsel, and coordinate across stakeholders
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment, handle multiple priorities, and deliver clear, concise work product under tight timelines
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills tailored to technical and executive audiences
Preferred:
- Prior in-house experience in satellite, telecommunications, or network infrastructure sectors
- Direct experience supporting LEO/MEO constellation programs, ground segment operations, teleport or gateway services, or managed network/connectivity services
- Experience with government contracts or public sector customers, including familiarity with FAR/DFARS and related flow-downs and compliance obligations
- Advanced degree or technical background in engineering, computer science, or telecommunications, or demonstrated ability to partner effectively with highly technical teams
- Experience supporting international operations, cross-border contracting, and global regulatory considerations, including export/sanctions screening and data transfer issues
- Experience with product counseling for network services, including service architecture, uptime/availability commitments, disaster recovery, and resilience obligations
- Comfort with ambiguity and evolving regulatory landscapes, with a track record of building scalable templates, playbooks, and processes
Base Pay Range for:
WA applicants is $230,773.00 - $323,081.85