LJA Engineering Inc

Sr. Contracts Administrator

LJA Engineering Inc$90K — $120K *
Legal & Accounting
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 7+ years of experience in commercial contract drafting, review, and negotiation
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience (7+ years)
  • Legal or business law education required
  • Strong knowledge of commercial contract provisions and risk allocation concepts
  • Excellent communication skills for conveying legal issues to non-lawyers
  • Proven ability to manage multiple projects with attention to detail
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office and AI-assisted contracting tools

Responsibilities

  • Draft and negotiate a variety of commercial agreements
  • Analyze contract language to identify legal and commercial issues
  • Provide guidance to internal teams on contract terms and risk mitigation
  • Develop and maintain standard contract templates and negotiation resources
  • Track open issues, approvals, and execution requirements
  • Coordinate post-execution administration and document retention
  • Support continuous improvement initiatives in contract management processes

Benefits

  • Generous time off, including full closure between Christmas and New Year's
  • Comprehensive health, dental, and mental health benefits
  • Paid maternity and parental leave
  • Tuition reimbursement and in-house educational courses
  • Referral bonuses for helping to recruit talent
  • Company-sponsored community engagement and volunteer days
  • Professional memberships for growth and networking opportunities
  • Opportunities for career advancement and internal mobility
  • A fun work culture with social events and family-friendly initiatives
Full Job Description
POSITION OVERVIEW: LJA Business Solutions is seeking a Senior Contracts Administrator to support the company's high-volume commercial contracting needs across multiple business units and divisions. This role is part of a collaborative in-house legal and contracts team focused on practical risk management, efficient contract execution, and responsive business support in connection with project operations.

This position is well suited for a highly organized, responsive, and detail-oriented professional who is comfortable managing a substantial contract workload in a fast-paced environment. The ideal candidate will bring strong drafting, review, negotiation, and issue-spotting skills, along with sound business judgment and the ability to work effectively within established legal, operational, and commercial frameworks. Candidates with law degrees and relevant in-house or law firm commercial contracts experience are encouraged to apply.

A TYPICAL DAY MIGHT INCLUDE:
  • Reviewing, drafting, revising, and negotiating a high volume of commercial agreements, including professional services agreements, subconsultant agreements, master services agreements, vendor agreements, non-disclosure agreements, amendments, work orders, and other operational contracts.
  • Coordinating contract intake, review, negotiation, execution, and file management across multiple business units and divisions
  • Identifying legal and commercial risks in proposed contract terms and recommending practical, business-oriented solutions
  • Escalating complex legal, compliance, insurance, indemnity, limitation of liability, intellectual property, data use, and dispute-related issues as appropriate
  • Working closely with internal stakeholders, including operations, procurement, finance, risk management, project managers, and business leadership, to support timely and effective contract execution
  • Supporting internal legal and contracting processes, templates, clause libraries, playbooks, and approval workflows
  • Assisting with interpretation of contractual obligations, deliverables, notices, claims, and related project documentation
  • Collaborating with in-house counsel and outside counsel, when needed, on legal issues, contract disputes, and specialized negotiations
  • Helping drive consistency, efficiency, and continuous improvement in the contract lifecycle management process
  • Maintaining accurate contract records and ensuring compliance with internal policies and procedures

Responsibilities:
  • Draft, review, revise, and negotiate commercial contracts and related documents in accordance with company policies, risk tolerances, and business objectives
  • Analyze contract language to identify key legal and commercial issues, including scope, payment, schedule, indemnity, insurance, warranties, limitation of liability, termination, confidentiality, intellectual property, and dispute resolution provisions
  • Provide practical guidance to internal business partners on contract requirements, deviations from standard terms, and risk mitigation options
  • Support the development and maintenance of standard contract templates, fallback positions, negotiation guidance, and training materials
  • Track open issues, negotiation status, approvals, and execution requirements to help ensure timely turnaround and operational alignment
  • Coordinate signatures, document retention, and post-execution administration as needed
  • Assist with process improvement initiatives relating to contract management, workflow efficiency, and legal operations
  • Support special projects and other duties as assigned in connection with the company's contracting and legal support functions

REQUIRED EDUCATION/LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:
  • Bachelor's degree (may be substituted with 7+ years' work experience)
  • Legal, paralegal, or business law education required

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
  • 7+ years' work experience
  • Significant experience in commercial contract drafting, review, and negotiation, preferably in an in-house legal department, corporate contracts function, professional services environment, engineering or construction-adjacent industry, or law firm practice focused on commercial transactions
  • Strong knowledge of common commercial contract provisions and risk allocation concepts
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain legal and business issues clearly and concisely to non-lawyers
  • Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously under deadline pressure
  • Sound judgment, professionalism, and a practical, solutions-oriented approach
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office and AI-assisted contracting tools

LEVEL UP WITH LJA

At LJA, we're 100% employee-owned. This drives results, rewards ambition and supports long-term success for every team member. With almost 100 locations and 3,000+ employee-owners (and growing), we're building something big! We want you to be part of it. Your future grows here.
  • Generous Time Off: PTO, paid holidays, and a full office closure between Christmas and New Year's.
  • Comprehensive Benefits: Multiple plan options for health, dental, and pets. Along with mental health support.
  • Family Support: Paid maternity and parental leave to help you focus on what matters most.
  • Education Support: Tuition reimbursement and in-house courses provided by our Learning and Development team.
  • Referral Bonuses: Know great talent? Get rewarded for helping us grow.
  • Community Impact: Company-sponsored volunteer days and philanthropic initiatives.
  • Professional Development: Memberships to industry organizations to keep you connected and growing.
  • Career Growth: Great internal mobility opportunities to advance your career.
  • Fun Culture: LJA social events, employee sports teams, bring your kid to work day, etc.

To Executive Search Firms & Staffing Agencies: LJA Engineering, Inc. and its subsidiaries do not accept unsolicited resumes from any agencies that have not signed a service agreement. All unsolicited resumes will be considered LJA's property. This includes resumes submitted directly to hiring managers without contacting LJA's Human Resources Talent Department.

About LJA Engineering Inc

LJA Engineering is a multidisciplinary engineering firm that provides civil, structural, and transportation engineering services to public and private clients. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has offices throughout Texas and Louisiana. LJA Engineering's services include planning, design, and construction management for infrastructure projects such as highways, bridges, airports, and water and wastewater systems.
Learn more about LJA Engineering Inc
Size
500 employees
Industry
Founded
1972

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