Senior Contracts Manager - Strategic Equipment

Job description

COMPANY OVERVIEW Blue Energy is transforming how nuclear power gets built. Instead of constructing each plant on-site from scratch - a process that takes 10-15 years and is too expensive and unpredictable to finance - we build our plants like ships: in a factory, on an assembly line, then transport and assemble them at the site. This cuts costs by over 60% and brings plants online in just three years. We also pair natural gas with nuclear at our sites, so customers can start receiving power from gas turbines right away and then switch over to clean nuclear power once it comes online - getting energy to the grid faster while nuclear is being built. Our mission is to make nuclear energy abundant, affordable, and repeatable at global scale. We use proven, already-approved reactor designs and work with existing nuclear and industrial sites, giving us a faster path to regulatory approval. By manufacturing this way, we put nuclear power on the same cost-reduction curve that has made wind, solar, and batteries cheaper every year. ROLE SUMMARY The Senior Contracts Manager – Strategic Equipment is Blue Energy’s commercial lead for its highest-value OEM supply relationships, accountable across the full lifecycle. The role covers major equipment supply agreements, including service agreements, with direct responsibility for OFE delivery alignment and supervision of a Contracts Administrator. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES - Lead commercial negotiations for all major OEM equipment supply contracts. Own pricing and escalation frameworks, performance guarantee structures, payment milestone schedules, LD provisions, warranty terms, and spare parts obligations. Develop and execute a negotiation strategy for each major OEM engagement, and competitive tension management. - Manage long-term commercial relationships with key OEM strategic partners, maintaining executive-level engagement and protecting Blue Energy’s interests across the full life of each supplier relationship. - Assess, respond to, and negotiate OEM claims for cost or schedule relief, distinguishing legitimate entitlement from opportunistic claims and maintaining commercial exposure with discipline. - Track OFE delivery dates across all major equipment packages in coordination with the Lead EPC Contract Manager. Flag delivery risks. - Maintain market intelligence on rotating equipment supply markets, including OEM capacity, lead times, pricing trends, and vendor qualification status, to sharpen negotiating strategy and inform procurement planning. - Negotiate service agreements for OEM on-site support. - Supervise and develop the Contracts Administrator, delegating administration tasks across the portfolio and building commercial capability. Own all contract administration responsibilities directly until the position is filled. - Manage warranty claims and serial defect notifications. - Maintain commercial reporting for the OEM portfolio, covering fabrication progress, milestone payment status, delivery schedule confidence, and open commercial matters. QUALIFICATIONS - Bachelors Degree in engineering, law, quantity surveying, or commerce - engineering background is a strong differentiator given the technical content of performance guarantee structures and FAT acceptance criteria. - 8+ years in contracts management on major capital projects in oil & gas, LNG, power generation, or heavy industrial, with demonstrated experience negotiating major OEM equipment supply agreements. Direct experience with LDs, performance guarantees, FAT commercial conditions, and OFE delivery obligations is required. - Proven track record negotiating directly against tier-1 OEM commercial teams on risk allocation, LD exposure, and performance guarantee language. - Strong foundational understanding of contract law as it applies to performance guarantees, LD provisions, force majeure, warranty obligations, and limitation of liability; able to work effectively with legal counsel on complex contract positions. - Understanding of the interface between engineering services and equipment supply contracts, including the commercial implications of specification changes post-award. - Strong post-award contract management capability - fabrication milestone tracking, payment certification, change order assessment and negotiation, LD administration, FAT commercial management, and warranty claim administration across multi-contract portfolios. - Sufficient technical literacy to assess OEM performance guarantee claims, challenge milestone valuations, and engage credibly with engineering and project management counterparts. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Direct experience negotiating gas turbine or steam turbine supply agreements. - Background in major power generation, CCGT, LNG, or oil & gas projects, with an understanding of how rotating equipment contracts sit within a broader project commercial framework. - Familiarity with nuclear OEM qualification requirements - NQA-1 procurement documentation, approved nuclear vendor list qualification, source inspection, and the documentation and traceability obligations applicable to nuclear-qualified equipment supply contracts. - Prior experience on an EPC contractor commercial team, providing valuable context for managing GMP structures and anticipating how delivery schedule risk is priced and escalated. - Experience in a pre-IPO or high-growth energy company, building governance infrastructure while executing major supply agreements under time pressure. We look forward to your application and helping foster an era of safe, clean, affordable, and abundant energy. Blue Energy is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t perfectly align with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. You might be the right candidate for this or other roles at Blue Energy now or in the future.