Back to jobs
tags.new

Contracts Manager

South San Francisco, California, United States

About Us 

Kardigan is a heart health company working to make cardiovascular disease preventable, curable and no longer the leading cause of death in the world.

It is Kardigan’s mission to develop multiple targeted treatments in parallel that bring people with cardiovascular diseases to the cures they deserve.
 
Led by Tassos Giannakakos, Jay Edelberg, M.D. and Bob McDowell, Ph.D., Kardigan’s co-founders have reunited after leading MyoKardia to discover and develop mavacamten, the first cardiac myosin inhibitor, resulting in an acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb in 2020.
 
We have a cutting-edge discovery and translational research platform, a pipeline of late-stage candidates, and an industry-leading team that is driven to improve the lives of patients.
 
At Kardigan, we are motivated by our values which guide how we work, interact, and achieve our goals. Driven by patients and their families, we are deeply committed to improving the lives of patients and prioritizing their needs above all else. We believe in being authentic—leading with truth to bring out the best in others by creating an environment where every person knows they will be fully accepted. With an eagerness to learn, we encourage the highest levels of curiosity and are open to changing our minds. We are committed to winning as a team with urgency, excellence, and intention, and support each other no matter what role we play or where we sit. Lastly, we strive to enable the impossible because patients are counting on us. We are not afraid to take risks to unlock innovation and advance scientific discoveries.
 
These values are the foundation of our work, empowering us to make a real difference, every day.
 
 

Position Title: Contracts Manager

Department: Legal

Reports To: Vice President, Corporate Law

Location: South San Francisco, CA – On-site 4 days per week (Mon to Thurs)

 

Job Overview

Kardigan is seeking an experienced Contracts Manager to oversee all aspects of contract processing and administration. In this role, the Contracts Manager will manage the complete contract lifecycle and lead the implementation and administration of contract management systems. Kardigan seeks an exceptional candidate with strong contract administration experience who can collaborate cross-functionally, negotiate agreements, and communicate clearly and effectively. Attention to detail is essential in this role. You will join our fast-paced legal team, reporting to our Vice President, Corporate Law. This is a highly visible position within Kardigan as you will interface directly with business stakeholders across the company.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Contract Lifecycle Management

  • Process all contract requests through the company's internal process from initial request intake to execution and track the status of contracts in process.
  • Lead the evaluation and implementation of a contract lifecycle management (CLM) tool and serve as the primary administrator for the system (e.g., maintain users, update user roles and workflows).
  • Prepare, review and negotiate a range of contracts, including CDAs, Consulting Agreements, MSAs, and other commercial agreements.
  • Track key contractual obligations and deadlines.
  • Maintain a library of form agreements and contracts repository.

Contract Operations & Reporting

  • Lead weekly interdepartmental contracts update meetings with business stakeholders and contract negotiators.
  • Develop and prepare contract management key performance metrics and generate periodic reports.
  • Coordinate and manage signature routing for contracts.
  • Develop and manage contract-related processes, guidelines and SOPs.

Business Partnership & Training

  • Serve as the primary liaison for internal partners on contract processes and operations.
  • Interface with teams across the company to gauge and anticipate contracting needs and provide guidance.
  • Develop and maintain training programs for contract processes and CLM system usage.
  • Develop communication plans to provide contract process updates and performance metrics to internal partners.

General

  • Support special projects and contract-related initiatives.
  • Perform other duties as directed by the manager.

 

Qualifications and Preferred Skills

Required

  • Bachelor's degree.
  • At least 7 years of relevant experience with a minimum of 5 years of contract administration experience.
  • Meticulous attention to detail.
  • Excellent problem-solving capabilities.
  • Strong organizational and planning skills, ability to manage changing priorities and workflow, and the ability to effectively advance multiple simultaneous projects.
  • Strong interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to communicate and collaborate with individuals at all levels inside and outside of the organization.
  • Ability to identify risks and communicate those risks to appropriate legal or other internal decision-makers.
  • Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, rapidly growing workplace, with a keen interest in providing a consistently high level of service.
  • Able to work independently while exercising initiative and good judgment.
  • Experience working with contract lifecycle management systems, e-signature platforms, and collaboration platforms.
  • Contract negotiations experience with a solid knowledge of commercial contract terms and best practices.

Preferred

  • Paralegal Certification
  • Previous CLM implementation and administration experience
  • Experience in the life sciences/biotech/pharma sector
  • IP administration experience
  • Experience managing IP docketing system implementation and on-going administration
  • Hand on experience with patent prosecution support
  • Proficiency with patent related filings and correspondence with patent offices
  • Familiarity with patent office systems (e.g. PAIR)

Exact Compensation may vary based on skills, experience and location.

Pay range

$146,000 - $190,000 USD

Create a Job Alert

Interested in building your career at Kardigan? Get future opportunities sent straight to your email.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Resume/CV*

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Education

Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Kardigan’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.