Associate General Counsel, Labor & Employment

About the role

The Associate General Counsel, Employment & Corporate will report to Hadrian's General Counsel and will serve as the company's go-to legal advisor on employment, labor, and corporate matters, with a particular focus on supporting a large, non-exempt workforce across multiple facilities in different geographies. This is a strategic, hands-on role for a senior attorney with significant employment and labor law experience who likes to build and thrives in a high-growth, fast-paced environment. You will partner closely with the General Counsel and People and Operations teams to advise on workforce compliance, policy development and implementation, and labor and employment risk management.

Responsibilities

• Advise on all aspects of labor and employment law, including:
• Wage and hour compliance
• Hiring, termination, and performance management
• Policies, handbooks, and employment agreements
• Leaves of absence, accommodations, and workforce issues
• Support workforce planning initiatives
• Partner with cross-functional teams (People, Finance, Operations) to operationalize employment law compliance in a fast-paced advanced manufacturing environment
• Draft, review, and negotiate employment agreements and related documents
• Develop and maintain policies, playbooks, trainings, and guidance for managers and employees
• Serve as a subject matter expert on HR and employment law best practices, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local laws
• Support any internal investigations or audits

Requirements

• JD from an accredited law school and active bar membership
• 10 - 15+ years of experience practicing employment law, preferably with exposure to non-exempt / hourly workforce matters in-house and/or in a law firm environment
• Experience supporting a manufacturing, industrial, or operational workforce is highly desirable
• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws, including wage and hour, leave, and accommodations compliance, as well as labor practices
• Hands-on experience building and advising on compliance systems
• Hands-on experience drafting policies, employment agreements, training materials, and compliance documentation
• Strong judgment and ability to advise senior leadership on strategic and operational decisions
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• What Sets You Apart:
• Experience in high-growth or startup environments
• Experience with multi-state hourly workforce compliance
• Familiarity with California employment law
• Exposure to corporate governance, entity management, and operational compliance
• Prior in-house counsel experience supporting People/HR teams in large ops organizations
• Ability to translate complex legal requirements into practical guidance for managers and employees
• Track record of building scalable processes and documentation to support rapid organizational growth

Benefits

Additional Information

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. 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.

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