Director, Government Contracts Counsel

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

Enterprise Strategy and Governance

• Establish and lead Coherent’s enterprise-wide legal strategy for U.S. government and defense contracting.
• Develop a comprehensive framework for identifying, reviewing, approving, and managing government-contract opportunities and obligations across the company.
• Create consistent policies, processes, decision criteria, and escalation protocols for government-contracting activities.
• Build visibility into existing government contracts and emerging opportunities across Coherent’s business units.
• Advise executive leadership on significant contractual, regulatory, compliance, and reputational risks associated with government programs.
• Monitor regulatory and enforcement developments and determine their impact on Coherent’s operations and business strategy.

Legal Counsel and Risk Management

• Serve as the company’s primary legal counsel on FAR, DFARS, agency supplements, CMMC, and other requirements applicable to federal and defense contracting.
• Provide strategic legal guidance throughout the government-contract lifecycle, including opportunity assessment, proposal development, negotiation, performance, administration, and closeout.
• Lead legal risk assessments for significant government programs and recommend practical mitigation strategies.
• Draft, review, and negotiate prime contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, nondisclosure agreements, licensing arrangements, and other government-contract-related agreements.
• Advise on mandatory and risk-based flow-down requirements and establish strategies for subcontractor and supplier compliance.
• Support internal investigations, audits, disclosures, and compliance reviews involving government contracts.
• Engage with the DoD, Department of State, other federal agencies, prime contractors, and external counsel on significant contractual or regulatory matters.

CMMC and Cybersecurity Compliance

• Provide legal leadership for Coherent’s CMMC readiness and broader government-contract cybersecurity compliance strategy.
• Partner with IT, cybersecurity, engineering, and business leadership to interpret contractual cybersecurity obligations and establish clear ownership for implementation.
• Advise on DFARS cybersecurity clauses, controlled unclassified information requirements, incident-reporting obligations, and related contractual risks.
• Evaluate cybersecurity and CMMC requirements associated with new opportunities, business arrangements, and acquisitions.
• Provide executive-level guidance on gaps, remediation priorities, and business risks related to CMMC readiness.

Business Partnership and Influence

• Serve as a trusted advisor to business-unit and functional leaders pursuing or performing government-contract work.
• Translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear, actionable guidance for nonlegal stakeholders.
• Facilitate cross-functional decisions where legal requirements, customer expectations, operational needs, and commercial priorities may conflict.
• Build relationships across decentralized business units and drive adoption of consistent enterprise standards without relying on direct reporting authority.
• Provide practical, risk-based solutions that protect the company while enabling responsible business growth.
• Develop and deliver targeted training for executives, program teams, engineers, IT and cybersecurity professionals, supply-chain personnel, and other stakeholders.

Education & Experience

• Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school required.
• Active membership in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar required.
• Typically 10 or more years of progressively responsible experience in U.S. government or defense contracting, including meaningful in-house legal or counsel experience.
• Significant experience advising on FAR, DFARS, DoD contracting, subcontracting, flow-down requirements, and government-contract compliance.
• Demonstrated experience advising on CMMC or government-contract cybersecurity obligations.
• Experience working within a public company, major defense contractor, or similarly complex an