Legal Operations Engineer

Hadrian - Manufacturing the Future

Hadrian is building autonomous factories that help aerospace and defense companies manufacture rockets, satellites, jets, and ships up to 10x faster and up to 2x cheaper. By combining advanced software, robotics, and full-stack manufacturing, we are reinventing how America produces its most critical parts.

Valued at $1.6B, we’re accelerating our mission with the launch of Factory 3 in Mesa, Arizona, a 290,000-square-foot facility creating 350 new jobs. We are expanding rapidly to support thousands of future hires, launching Hadrian Maritime to expand into naval production, and introducing a Factory-as-a-Service model that delivers complete systems instead of individual parts.

Hadrian is backed by leading investors including T. Rowe Price, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, and Andreessen Horowitz, our fast-growing team is united around reindustrializing American manufacturing for the 21st century and beyond.

The Role

The Legal Operations Engineer will be a systems builder and architect within Hadrian’s Legal function, responsible for designing, implementing, and scaling the systems, processes, and compliance infrastructure that will enable the company to grow quickly and responsibly.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of legal, systems thinking, process design, and technology — and who enjoys building from scratch in an environment where structure is being designed in real time. You’ll report to the General Counsel and work closely with Legal, Finance, Security, IT, HR, and Operations to turn legal requirements into durable, scalable workflows.

What You’ll Do

• Architect, implement and maintain Hadrian’s legal operations foundation, including systems, tools, and processes that scale with company growth

• Own and evolve core legal infrastructure such as: Contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems, entity management and corporate governance workflows

• Compliance tracking and reporting (e.g., ITAR, export controls, internal policies)

• Intake, approval, and prioritization workflows for Legal

• Partner with Legal leadership to translate regulatory and compliance requirements into operational systems

• Build repeatable processes for contract review, approvals, and recordkeeping that balance speed with rigor

• Build and maintain dashboards, metrics, and systems reporting to provide visibility into legal work, risk areas, and compliance status

• Support audits, diligence requests, and regulatory inquiries by ensuring systems are accurate, complete, and defensible

• Identify manual, error-prone, or fragmented processes and automate or streamline them

• Serve as a cross-functional partner to Finance, Security, HR, and Operations on compliance-adjacent initiatives

• Manage and optimize relationships with legal technology vendors and outside service providers

• Create documentation, playbooks, and training to support adoption and consistency across the company

What We’re Looking For:

• 5+ years of experience in legal operations, compliance operations, program management, or systems/process design roles

• Proven track record of building legal or compliance infrastructure in a scaling organization

• Strong systems-thinking mindset — comfortable designing workflows, data models, and tooling from first principles

• Experience implementing and managing legal tech platforms (e.g., CLM, GRC, entity management, document management)

• Ability to work independently, prioritize effectively, and operate with minimal structure

• Excellent cross-functional communication skills and the ability to translate legal requirements into operational reality

• Comfort operating in regulated or high-stakes environments

What Sets You Apart:

• Experience supporting aerospace, defense, manufacturing, hardware, or other regulated industries

• Familiarity with ITAR, export controls, or government-adjacent compliance environments

• Technical fluency (e.g., SQL, workflow automation tools, low-code/no-code platforms, or systems integration)

• Experience as an early or first Legal Ops hire at a startup or high-growth company

• Ability to act as both a strategic architect and a hands-on executor

• A builder mindset — excited to create systems that didn’t previously exist

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans for employees

• 401k

• Relocation support may be provided for certain situations, based on business need.

• Flexible vacation policy

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Hadrian Is An Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the Company’s policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. The Company does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race inclusive of traits historically associated with race (including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, such as braids, locks and twists), color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, national origin (including, in California, possession of a drivers license), ancestry, citizenship, age, physical or mental disability, height or weight, medical condition, family care status, military or veteran status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, exercise of reproductive rights, any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws, or any combination of the above characteristics. When necessary, the Company also makes reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates and employees, including for candidates or employees who are disabled by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.