Jobs at SynMax (Now Hiring) — 2 open

Assistant General Counsel

SynMax, Inc. · Washington, D.C. (Hybrid) · Full-time

SynMax analyzes satellite imagery and independent data to find dark ships, count gas flares, track LNG cargoes, and predict when power plants and data centers will actually come online. We're a Delaware corporation headquartered in Houston, with an office in Washington, D.C. and a UK subsidiary. Our platforms - Theia (maritime), Hyperion (energy), Vulcan (infrastructure), and BasinIQ (agentic AI for upstream oil and gas) - serve U.S. Government and allied defense customers, commercial energy companies, and institutional trading firms.

You'll be the second attorney in a two-lawyer department: the newest lawyer, the most senior associate, and the entire junior staff, simultaneously. You'll own the commercial contracting pipeline day to day and support government contracting, export control, IP protection, and corporate matters, reporting directly to the General Counsel — who is direct, moves fast, expects concrete deliverables over open-ended questions, and considers a sense of humor a genuine job requirement.

A typical week:

• A trading firm proposes a liability cap so creative it deserves an art award. You counter with our standard position and an explanation of why it exists, and everyone stays friends.
• Sales needs a yes on a redline by end of day. You deliver a yes with three changes, in language the customer can actually accept, before lunch.
• You do the second read nobody else does, catch the cross-reference that quietly rewrote the indemnity, and feel like a genius. Because you are.

• J.D. and active bar membership in at least one U.S. jurisdiction; D.C. Bar admission or eligibility to practice as in-house counsel under D.C. court rules.
  
  
• 6–10 years of combined law firm and in-house experience in technology transactions, data/software licensing, or government contracts, with first-chair negotiation experience against institutional counterparties.
  
  
• Working knowledge of the FAR Part 12 commercial framework and DFARS data rights regime.
  
  
• Demonstrated ability to work across sales, engineering, finance, and executive teams, translating legal concepts into plain language.
  
  
• U.S. citizenship, required for eligibility for a U.S. Government personnel security clearance, and ability to pass a comprehensive background investigation.

Preferred:

An active or recent U.S. Government security clearance (Secret or higher); in-house experience at a geospatial, remote sensing, or defense technology company; familiarity with alternative data licensing for trading firm customers; exposure to EAR/ITAR classification, OFAC compliance, or FCL sponsorship processes.

SynMax provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law. The U.S. citizenship requirement for this role reflects U.S. Government contract and security clearance eligibility requirements and is applied consistent with applicable law.