Job Title
Director of Contracting
Agency
Texas A&M Engineering
Department
Vice Chancellor Engineering
Proposed Minimum Salary
Commensurate
Job Location
College Station, Texas
Job Type
Staff
Job Description
The Director of Contracting serves as INSPIRE Alliance’s senior contracting professional and leads the development and administration of the contracting infrastructure needed to support applied national security research, engineering, and technology transition.
Under the general direction of the Chief Financial Officer, the Director manages the full lifecycle of federal contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, subcontracts, and industry teaming arrangements. The Director establishes contracting practices that support timely execution, sound risk management, and compliance with applicable award terms and acquisition requirements.
Working with executive leadership, finance, business development, program managers, principal investigators, and institutional partners, the Director translates opportunities into executable agreements, clarifies contractual obligations, and supports accountable performance from proposal through closeout.
Responsibilities:
Contract Strategy and Lifecycle Management
Lead the review, drafting, negotiation, administration, modification, and closeout of prime contracts, subcontracts, grants, cooperative agreements, and teaming arrangements; coordinate execution by appropriately authorized officials.
Serve as the principal contracting interface with government contracting personnel, industry partners, and institutional counterparts, consistent with assigned authority.
Evaluate terms and conditions, funding limitations, deliverables, milestones, reporting requirements, payment provisions, intellectual property and data rights, publication provisions, and termination exposure.
Manage contract actions, including modifications, options, task orders, funding changes, extensions, and closeout; maintain complete records of approvals and commitments.
Provide clear guidance on contractual obligations and promptly elevate material performance, funding, compliance, or business risks to executive leadership.
Federal Acquisition and Compliance
Assess the applicability of federal acquisition requirements, including FAR, DFARS, Cost Accounting Standards, and other sponsor requirements; coordinate specialized interpretation with legal and compliance personnel.
Develop solicitation and award compliance reviews, clause matrices, representations and certifications, and subcontract flow-down requirements appropriate to each agreement.
Coordinate with research security, export control, information technology, legal, and compliance personnel to address contractual security, controlled information, cybersecurity, export, and foreign involvement requirements before commitments are made.
Support contract reviews, audits, sponsor inquiries, and corrective actions with organized documentation and timely responses.
Proposal and Business Development Support
Partner with business development and technical teams to evaluate opportunity eligibility, acquisition pathways, contractual requirements, teaming structures, and execution readiness.
Review solicitation instructions and contractual submission requirements; coordinate required approvals, exceptions, and clarifications before proposal submission.
Work with the Chief Financial Officer and Controller on pricing assumptions, contract type, billing terms, funding exposure, indirect cost treatment, and financial feasibility.
Negotiate confidentiality agreements, teaming agreements, and related pre-award instruments in coordination with legal counsel and authorized signatories.
Subcontracts and Partner Agreements
Establish subcontract and partner agreement processes that document scope, deliverables, funding, applicable clauses, reporting, and performance expectations.
Coordinate partner due diligence, required reviews, negotiation, modifications, monitoring, and closeout with…