Assistant General Counsel

Overview

The Assistant General Counsel will be a senior member of the U.S. Legal Department with responsibility for supporting the Company's commercial manufacturing business. This attorney will lead the drafting, review, negotiation, and strategic management of complex commercial supply agreements governing the development, manufacture, and commercial supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and finished pharmaceutical products. The successful candidate will serve as a principal legal advisor to the Company's commercial manufacturing teams, partnering with Business Development, Operations, Technical Services, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Finance, and senior leadership to structure commercially practical agreements that appropriately allocate risk while supporting long-term customer relationships. Secondary responsibilities include other commercial contracts, including confidentiality, vendor, consulting, collaboration, and other corporate agreements.

 

Remote hire in the NJ, PA, DE area.  

Responsibilities

• Lead the drafting, review, negotiation, and interpretation of complex commercial supply agreements for API and finished pharmaceutical products.
• Negotiate key commercial supply provisions, including pricing, forecasting, minimum purchase commitments, capacity reservations, supply assurance, inventory, change management, quality obligations, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, indemnification, limitation of liability, supply disruptions, and technology transfer.
• Provide practical legal advice balancing commercial objectives, operational realities, regulatory requirements, and legal risk.
• Partner closely with Business Development, Operations, Technical Services, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, and Finance on customer negotiations and contract execution.
• Draft, review, and negotiate other agreements, including master services agreements, confidentiality agreements, vendor agreements, and other contracts as needed.
• Negotiate directly with customers and counterparties; manage outside counsel when required.
• Ensure contracts are consistent with regulatory requirements, Company policies, and evolving industry standards.
• Track the status of contracts and projects and regularly communicate with stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain data-driven contract analytics.
• Periodically assess emerging legal risks (e.g., AI use, data security, cross-border data transfers, evolving regulatory frameworks) and proactively update templates and processes accordingly.
• Partner cross-functionally on digital transformation initiatives (e.g., AI governance, data privacy compliance, cybersecurity clauses).

Qualifications

Education / Experience:      

• Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school.
• Admission to the bar and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive experience drafting, reviewing, and negotiating complex commercial agreements in the life sciences, pharmaceutical, biotech, or CDMO industry.
• Substantial experience serving as lead counsel for commercial supply agreements involving API and/or finished pharmaceutical products.
• Experience advising CDMOs or life sciences companies on commercial manufacturing relationships, including GMP-regulated operations is highly preferred.
• Experience negotiating sophisticated IP provisions in pharmaceutical development and commercial supply agreements, including ownership allocation, background and foreground IP, tech transfer, and related licensing arrangements, is highly desirable.
• Experience at a leading law firm and/or in-house legal department supporting life sciences clients.
• Exposure to or experience using AI-assisted drafting tools, automation platforms, or legal technology solutions in contracting workflows is a plus.
• Experience using data and metrics to improve contract cycle times.
• Familiarity with cross-border contracting considerations, data privacy regulations, and evolving regulatory frameworks impacting global life sciences companies preferred.

 

Knowledge / Skills / Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability managing and negotiating contracts, preferably at a CDMO, or at a company in the pharmaceutical or biotech industry.
• Strong understanding of the business and operational drivers of CDMO relationships, including forecasting, capacity planning, quality systems, regulatory compliance, technology transfer, validation, and supply continuity.
• Excellent legal writing, analytical reasoning, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distill complex legal issues into practical business guidance.
• Process-oriented mindset with the ability to identify inefficiencies and drive continuous improvement and scalability.
• Strong organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to manage multiple transactions under tight deadlines.
• Excellent attention to detail while maintaining commercial pragmatism.
• Ability to independently manage numerous sophisticated negotiations with minimal supervision.
• Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new information and conduct risk/benefit analysis; strong analytical skills; demonstrated business acumen.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite: experience with contract management tools such as Salesforce, preferred.
• This position ideally will be located in the Tri-State area (NJ, PA, DE).

 

Anticipated base pay range: $140,000 - $210,000

 

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against based on disability.

 

This job description does not state or imply that the above are the only duties and responsibilities assigned to this position.  Employees holding this position will be required to perform any other job-related duties as requested by Management.