Vaulted Deep | Houston, TX (hybrid) | Full-time | Reports to: SVP of Finance
The RoleYou will own the legal workstream for Vaulted's partnerships end-to-end - from term sheet through definitive documentation through post-closing amendments - as our senior in-house counsel for partnership transactions. You will lead a two-person legal team, managing a Corporate Counsel and a Contract Specialist (paralegal), and will draft and negotiate directly against sophisticated counterparties (and their counsel), with the expectation that routine and mid-complexity deals are papered fully in-house.
What You'll DoDeal structuring and documentation- Draft and negotiate JV agreements, LLC operating agreements, site host and lease agreements, feedstock supply agreements, tipping fee arrangements, and O&M agreements with partners
- Structure deals across our multi-entity architecture ensuring JV terms are compatible with existing financing and offtake contracts
- Own the term sheet process: translate commercial deal points from the business development team into structures that survive diligence, financing, and audit
Risk allocation and specialist issues- Negotiate liability, indemnity, insurance, and environmental risk allocation provisions - including waste acceptance specifications, title/risk transfer for waste streams, and long-tail environmental liability between generator, hauler, site host, and operator
- Build and maintain waste-stream-specific contract standards
Team leadership and process ownership- Manage and develop a team of two direct reports: a Corporate Counsel and a Contract Specialist / paralegal
- Allocate deal work across the team - first-chair the complex JV negotiations yourself while delegating routine agreements, diligence, and contract lifecycle work with appropriate supervision
- Set quality standards, review the team's work product, and build the team's capability so more of the deal pipeline can be handled below your level over time
- Manage outside counsel on matters that genuinely require specialist support (tax, permitting, regulatory, litigation), keeping spend tight and scoped
- Continue build out of template library and negotiation playbook so deal velocity increases as the partnership pipeline scales
- Support diligence workstreams for financings and equity raises as they touch partnership agreements
What We're Looking ForRequired- J.D. from an accredited law school; licensed and in good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction (Texas admission or ability to register as in-house counsel)
- 8-12 years of transactional experience in energy, infrastructure, environmental/waste, or project development - at a major law firm, in-house at a sponsor/developer, or both
- Demonstrated first-chair experience drafting and negotiating JV agreements or comparable complex commercial arrangements without outside counsel support
- Fluency in commercial risk allocation: indemnities, limitations of liability, insurance requirements, force majeure, default and termination mechanics
- Comfort negotiating against large, sophisticated counterparties and their Big Law counsel
- Experience managing and reviewing the work of junior attorneys and/or paralegals, with the judgment to delegate effectively and the willingness to remain hands-on in documents
- Ability to operate independently in a lean, fast-moving company - you and your team are the legal function for this workstream
Strongly preferred- Experience with waste management, environmental services, or adjacent industries
- Familiarity with environmental liability frameworks (RCRA, CERCLA, state waste regulation) and how they drive contract terms
- Exposure to project finance structures (SPVs, lender consent rights, collateral assignment of material contracts)
- Experience at a venture-backed or growth-stage company
Not required- Carbon markets or CDR experience - we will teach you the industry; we need you to already know how to paper the deals
LocationHouston, TX (hybrid). Periodic travel to partner meetings and operating sites required
