Nooks

General Counsel

Arlington, VA · Exec

No sponsorshipDetected 27 days ago

CybersecurityNegotiationM&AContract ManagementCorporate LawIntellectual PropertyLeadership

About the role

Nooks is seeking a General Counsel (GC) to serve as a core strategic leader as we scale the world's first nationwide network of classified infrastructure.
This is a greenfield builder role: there is no existing in-house team, no inherited playbook, and no margin for a compliance-first, risk-averse mindset.
Your job is not to default to 'no.' It is to find the path forward.

Design and own the strategy for in-house versus outside counsel execution - determining which competencies to build internally, which to retain externally, and managing outside counsel relationships for cost, quality, and outcomes.
Build the legal function from the ground up: hire and develop in-house legal talent
design workflows, tools, and intake processes that allow Operations and Sales to engage with legal efficiently and without friction.
Own proactive risk identification and mitigation across Nooks' operational and commercial exposure - particularly product liability and litigation risk stemming from classified infrastructure failure - before claims arise, not after.
Develop and implement a novel, company-specific risk management framework
the application at Nooks will not mirror existing industry models and requires original design thinking.
identify gray areas and develop defensible positions that enable innovation.
Lead legal strategy for physical expansion: sophisticated lease negotiations, zoning, and site accreditation compliance across a growing nationwide footprint of classified facilities.
manage cap table and all board-level legal materials.
You will own the legal architecture that enables Nooks to move fast across a genuinely complex regulatory environment - one where the frameworks are often antiquated, the gray areas are wide, and the stakes are high.

Juris Doctor (JD) from an accredited law school
active member in good standing of the Virginia or DC Bar (or eligible for immediate Corporate Counsel registration).
active clearance is a plus but not required at time of hire.
You must be eligible to work in the U.S. Candidates must be capable of maintaining eligibility up to the Secret level within 45 days of hire.

Strong command of corporate finance, equity compensation structures, and governance — including cap table management, board materials, and SEC-adjacent compliance.

If you are a hungry, growth-oriented legal leader who sees early-stage equity and exponential scale as the opportunity of a career - and you are ready to build something consequential - this is your seat.
Strong command of corporate finance, equity compensation structures, and governance - including cap table management, board materials, and SEC-adjacent compliance.
In addition to base salary compensation as outlined below, also eligible for discretionary bonus plus equity options.

Nooks is pioneering Classified-Infrastructure-as-a-Service (CIaaS) - designing, building, and operating Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs) and other secured, classified environments for the defense and national security community.
We work with the agencies, contractors, and mission-driven organizations that keep the nation safe, delivering the physical infrastructure that makes classified work possible.
We're growing fast, operating across multiple markets, and building a company that takes both the mission and the business seriously.

This listing is sourced directly from Nooks's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.