---
title: 'Contracts Strategy Lead, U.S. Government at Nominal'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/contracts-strategy-lead-u-s-government-nominal-new-york-vd0gndvkayjc'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-16'
---

# Contracts Strategy Lead, U.S. Government at Nominal

- **Company:** Nominal
- **Location:** New York, NY
- **Compensation:** $185k–$210k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-22
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/nominal/am9icG9zdDq9WfwuhoZ0KdNw0qxTaZ3p

## Job description

## About Nominal

Nominal is building the connected test and operations platform powering the world's most advanced hardware systems, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation defense programs. Our platform gives hardware engineering teams a single place to ingest data, analyze performance, automate test execution, and collaborate across every phase of development, so they can move faster without sacrificing safety or precision. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software. We serve top-tier commercial and defense customers, from autonomy leaders like Anduril and Shield AI to next-generation aerospace teams like Hermeus and REGENT, and performance engineering teams like Pratt Miller Motorsports, alongside mission partners within the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force on programs where failure isn’t an option. We’re backed by Sequoia, General Catalyst, Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Lightspeed. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence.

🚀 About the role

Nominal is hiring a Contracts Strategy Lead, U.S. Government to help scale how we partner with government customers. You’ll work alongside our Government & Public Sector, Legal, Finance, Capture, and Program teams to structure complex opportunities, negotiate with acquisition organizations, and translate Nominal’s commercial software business into government-compatible acquisition strategies and contracts. As the lead individual contributor for U.S. Government contract strategy, you’ll bring deep acquisition expertise while partnering closely with experienced leaders across the company. You’ll own complex work from day one and help develop repeatable approaches that support the continued growth of our Government & Public Sector business. This is not a traditional contract administration role. We’re looking for someone who understands government acquisition, thinks commercially, and enjoys solving difficult contracting challenges alongside cross-functional teams.

✅ What You'll Do

Shape Government Opportunities

- Structure U.S. Government opportunities from proposal through award.
- Translate Nominal’s commercial software model into government-compatible pricing, licensing, and acquisition approaches.
- Review solicitations, agreements, and contract vehicles while identifying risks and recommending a path forward.
- Partner with Capture, Business Development, Finance, Legal, and Program teams on complex pursuits. Lead Contract Negotiations
- Engage directly with Contracting Officers, acquisition teams, prime contractors, and strategic partners.
- Develop negotiation strategies that balance customer needs with Nominal’s commercial objectives.
- Educate government stakeholders on commercial software models and modern acquisition approaches.
- Support proposals, pricing submissions, statements of work, and contract negotiations. Advance Our Contract Strategy
- Develop reusable contract language, negotiation guidance, and preferred positions.
- Improve contract-strategy frameworks, review processes, and workflows.
- Build internal best practices that make government contracting more consistent and scalable.
- Identify acquisition pathways and partnership structures that support future growth. Support Program Execution
- Support contracts through execution, renewal, expansion, and modification.
- Partner with Program teams to ensure contractual requirements are understood and successfully delivered.
- Help resolve contracting questions that arise during program execution.
- Carry lessons from active programs into future acquisition and negotiation strategies.

🤓 About You

- You have a strong foundation in U.S. Government acquisition and apply procurement rules with sound business judgment.
- You enjoy solving ambiguous problems rather than simply following established playbooks.
- You communicate effectively with government, legal, technical, and business stakeholders.
- You can translate commercial software business models into practical government contracting approaches.
- You are comfortable independently owning complex work while collaborating across teams.
- You are excited to help build better ways of working as Nominal continues to scale.

📋 Qualifications

- 5+ years of experience supporting U.S. Government contracts, acquisitions, or contract strategy.
- Experience as a Contracting Officer, acquisition professional, contracts strategist, or in a comparable role.
- Strong working knowledge of FAR, DFARS, and common U.S. Government acquisition vehicles.
- Experience negotiating or supporting complex government contracts involving software or technology.
- Experience supporting programmatic acquisitions, multi-year programs, or larger-scale contract vehicles.
- Ability to translate commercial software pricing, licensing, and delivery models into government-compatible structures.
- Experience partnering with Legal, Capture, Finance, Program, and technical teams.
- Strong written, verbal, and customer-facing communication skills.
- This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance, in order to meet U.S. regulatory eligibility requirements for the access of classified work associated with the role.
- Willingness to travel up to 25%.

⚡ Skills that accelerate us

- Active Secret clearance is preferred, but not required.
- Experience in both DoD acquisition and commercial technology.
- Experience at a defense technology, dual-use, government SaaS, or growth-stage company.
- Experience with programmatic acquisition and sustained government programs.
- Experience with nontraditional acquisition pathways such as OTAs, CSOs, or SBIR/STTR.
- Experience helping pilots or prototype efforts transition into larger programs.
- Experience improving contract processes, playbooks, templates, or negotiation guidance.
- Experience working with prime contractors, resellers, teaming partners, or strategic partners.

✨ Benefits/Perks

- 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
- ✈️ Annual company retreat

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

ITAR Requirements To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR [here](https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987).

## About Nominal

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Nominal provides a unified industrial data stack that enables hardware engineering teams to test, analyze, and operate mission-critical systems with the speed of software development.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Cameron McCord (Co-founder & CEO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Aerospace & Defense, Hardware Testing, Industrial Data Infrastructure
- Target customers: B2B – Engineering teams at startups, enterprises, and government agencies building complex hardware (e.g., autonomous vehicles, space systems, hypersonics)
- Mission: "Equip engineers to test and operate critical technology" – delivering the tools and infrastructure to deliver mission-critical capabilities at scale in the shortest time possible.

## Products & Services
- **[Nominal Core](https://nominal.io)**: A cloud-based collaborative workspace that ingests, structures, and analyzes telemetry, logs, video, and simulation results. Provides real-time mission control, trend analysis, and automated reporting to accelerate development, production, and operations. (SaaS)
- **[Nominal Connect](https://nominal.io)**: An edge compute platform for hardware test. Deploys Python-based test apps on-premises, turns scripts into operator-ready interfaces, and runs tests deterministically at the edge (lab, remote range, air-gapped). Automatically syncs results to Core for deeper analysis. (On-premise/Edge software)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$182.5M** across 5 rounds (Seed, Series A, Series B, and a non-equity assistance)
- **Notable Investors**: Founders Fund (led Series B), General Catalyst (led Series A), Lux Capital (led Seed), and Sequoia Capital (partnered 2025)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew **+202.5% YoY** to 196 employees (as of 2026)
  - 17,984 LinkedIn followers (+209.7% yearly)
  - Customer Anduril reduced test review time from 5+ hours to near real-time across 300+ engineers
  - Active job postings: 67 (up +346.7% yearly)
  - Offices in Los Angeles (HQ), New York, Austin, Pflugerville (TX)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unified platform** that replaces fragmented test tools – one data model for telemetry, logs, video, simulations, and documents
- **Built by engineers from Palantir, SpaceX, Anduril, and Lockheed Martin** – deep domain expertise in mission-critical hardware
- **Edge-to-cloud architecture** that works in air-gapped, offline, and secure environments
- **Enterprise-grade security and scale** with support for startups, large enterprises, and government deployments
- **Open API, SDKs, and integration ecosystem** allowing teams to modernize legacy systems without disruption

## Strategic Focus
- Continue scaling the platform to serve larger defense and aerospace programs (e.g., integrated programs, fleet management)
- Expand into manufacturing test lines and production environments (scaling test code from prototype to manufacturing)
- Deepen government partnerships and secure FedRAMP or similar certifications
- Grow headcount aggressively, especially in engineering, mission operations, and sales roles

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: "Engineers building for Engineers" – a tight-knit team of operators and builders from Palantir, SpaceX, Anduril, and more. High ownership, real impact on hardware that flies, launches, or defends.
- **Work Policy**: In-office **5 days per week** (LA, NY, Austin, Pflugerville). Gourmet lunch provided daily.
- **Perks & Benefits**:
  - 100% covered health, dental, and vision insurance (for you and family)
  - Unlimited paid vacation
  - 12-weeks parental leave
  - Fertility and family planning ($15,000 lifetime)
  - $500/year hardware sensor stipend
  - Wellness stipend ($100/month)
  - 401K with employer match
  - Learning & development stipend
  - Employee-friendly equity terms
- **Growth Trajectory**: Over 200% yearly headcount growth, recent Series B funding, and a clear mission to accelerate the "hardware renaissance" – strong signal for career growth and impact.

## Sources
1. [Nominal Careers Page](https://nominal.io/careers)
2. [Nominal About Us](https://nominal.io/about-us)
3. [Nominal Product Page](https://nominal.io/?j=35813&sfmc_sub=16110646&l=1582_HTML&u=1011363&mid=546014653&jb=234&sfmc_id=16110646)
4. [LinkedIn Company Profile](https://linkedin.com/company/nominal-inc)
5. [Sequoia Capital Portfolio](https://sequoiacap.com/companies/nominal/)

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