Government Attorney Jobs in Tennessee (NOW HIRING)

Whisper Aero is a next-generation aerospace company developing cleaner, quieter, and more efficient electric propulsion systems for the future of aviation and autonomous aircraft. Our team brings deep experience from NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Joby Aviation, GE, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce. 

 We are a fast-growing, technically driven startup working across commercial and government applications, including Department of Defense, NASA, and SBIR/STTR programs. We are looking for a Government Contracts Attorney who can help us navigate the increasingly complex government contracting environment while moving quickly and pragmatically alongside our engineering, business development, and leadership teams. 

The Opportunity 

This is a highly hands-on role for an attorney who understands government contracting and enjoys operating in a fast-moving startup environment. You will have significant ownership and the opportunity to build Whisper Aero's government contracts infrastructure as the company grows. You will be the company's subject-matter expert to leadership and cross-functional teams on government contracts, proposals, negotiations, compliance, and relationships with primes, subcontractors, and government customers. The ideal candidate is not someone who simply identifies legal issues—they are someone who can understand the business objective, identify the risk, develop a practical solution, and help the team execute. 

What You'll Do 

Government Contracts & Business Development 

• Advise executive leadership, business development, engineering, finance, and program teams on federal contracting opportunities, risks, obligations, and negotiation strategy. 
• Evaluate proposed government opportunities and help the company determine whether and how to pursue them. 
• Draft, review, and negotiate prime contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and related government contracting documents. 
• Advise on contract formation, administration, modifications, amendments, extensions, and closeout. 
• Negotiate with government agencies, prime contractors, subcontractors, and other strategic partners. 
• Advise leadership on contract risk allocation, commercial terms, data rights, liability, and compliance obligations. 

FAR / DFARS / SBIR / STTR 

• Provide practical guidance on the FAR and DFARS, with particular emphasis on DoD contracting. 
• Advise on SBIR/STTR Phase I, II, and III contracting requirements, including marking requirements. 
• Interpret and advise on government contract clauses and determine how they apply to Whisper Aero's business, technology, and obligations. 
• Identify applicable FAR/DFARS clauses and required flowdowns for subcontractors and suppliers. 
• Monitor changes to applicable government contracting regulations and advise internal stakeholders on their impact. 

Intellectual Property & Government Data Rights 

• Coordinate with in-house IP counsel to ensure alignment of government contract requirements and Whisper Aero's IP strategy, including protections and obligations regarding technical data, software, proprietary information, SBIR/STTR data rights, limited rights, restricted rights, and government-purpose rights. 
• Develop and maintain practical guidance regarding data-rights assertions and restrictive markings. 
• Work directly with engineering and technical teams to ensure government deliverables and technical data are properly marked and handled. 
• Help establish processes for identifying and protecting pre-existing, privately developed, and contract-generated IP and technical data. 

Contract Compliance & Portfolio Management 

• Conduct periodic audits of the company's government contract portfolio to identify obligations, risks, gaps, and upcoming requirements. 
• Build and maintain a centralized understanding of Whisper Aero's contractual obligations. 
• Develop and maintain contract obligation and compliance matrices, including FAR/DFARS clause requirements and subcontractor flowdowns. 
• Develop and maintain flowdown matrices for prime contracts, subcontracts, suppliers, and other third parties. 
• Partner with engineering, program management, finance, security, and operations teams to ensure ongoing compliance. 
• Establish practical processes for contract administration and compliance that can scale as the company grows. 
• Identify potential compliance issues early and work with leadership to develop appropriate mitigation strategies. 

Prime / Subcontractor Agreements 

• Develop and maintain templates for: 
• Subcontractor agreements 
• Prime contractor agreements 
• Teaming agreements 
• NDAs 
• Supplier agreements 
• Other government-contracting-related agreements 
• Review and negotiate flowdown provisions. 
• Advise internal teams on the obligations Whisper Aero is accepting from primes and passing through to subcontractors. 
• Ensure subcontract terms appropriately protect Whisper Aero's IP, data rights, commercial interests, and contractual position. 

Other Transactions & Emerging Contracting Models 

• Advise on Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements, including OTAs for prototype and production activities. 
• Evaluate alternative government contracting structures and help leadership understand their legal and commercial implications. 
• Support negotiations involving nontraditional acquisition structures and emerging government procurement models. 

What We're Looking For 

Required 

• J.D. from an accredited law school and active bar membership. 
• 5+ years of government contracts experience, ideally with significant in-house, aerospace/defense, or government contractor experience. 
• Extensive working knowledge of FAR and DFARS, with strong preference for deep DFARS experience. 
• Meaningful experience with DoD government contracts. 
• Experience with SBIR/STTR programs and contracting. 
• Strong understanding of government contract compliance and contract administration. 
• Experience drafting and negotiating government contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, and related agreements. 
• Strong understanding of government data-rights issues. 
• Ability to translate complex government contracting requirements into practical guidance for non-lawyers. 

Strongly Preferred 

• Experience negotiating and structuring Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements. 
• Experience with government data rights and technical-data/software marking requirements. 
• Experience with both prime and subcontractor relationships. 
• Experience developing FAR/DFARS flowdown and compliance matrices. 
• Experience with SBIR/STTR Phase III contracting. 
• Experience working in a startup environment, especially those in hardware or deeptech 
• A passion for aviation 

What Success Looks Like 

In your first year, you will help Whisper Aero: 

• Build a scalable government contracts framework. 
• Establish clear processes for reviewing and negotiating government opportunities. 
• Create a comprehensive contract obligation and compliance process. 
• Develop standardized prime and subcontractor templates. 
• Establish robust FAR/DFARS flowdown processes. 
• Strengthen our SBIR/STTR contracting and data-rights practices. 
• Ensure engineering teams understand and correctly implement government data-rights and marking requirements. 
• Give leadership clear, practical advice on contractual risk and opportunities. 
• Help the company move faster while maintaining a high standard of government-contracting compliance. 

 The Ideal Person 

We're looking for someone who is: 

• Nimble and entrepreneurial — comfortable building processes rather than inheriting them.