[Hiring] VP, Deputy General Counsel @Montera

Role Description

Montera is seeking a VP, Deputy General Counsel (Energy) to lead the company's energy legal work, negotiate commercial agreements across the business, and support the continued development of the legal function as we scale our hyperscale data center portfolio. Reporting to the Chief Legal Officer, this position is one of three planned functional roles, each ultimately responsible for a distinct area of the business (Job Level M7 — VP or SVP).

Power is a critical-path factor in the development of every campus, influencing site viability, energization timelines, and the commitments Montera can make to its customers. This position is responsible for the agreements that secure power, the regulatory engagement that protects it, and the allocation of power-related risk within customer agreements. The role is broad rather than specialized:

• Responsible for commercial contracts across development and operations.
• Support for customer agreements and certain templates, playbooks, outside-counsel panel, and systems that enable a small team to support a growing portfolio.
• Partner with the Development, Design & Construction, Delivery, Procurement, Finance, and Commercial teams.

What You’ll Do

• Exercise delegated authority from the Chief Legal Officer across energy and commercial matters, and represent the Legal function directly with the business, counterparties, and regulators.
• Build the legal department in partnership with the CLO — contract templates and negotiation playbooks, matter intake, contract lifecycle management, the outside-counsel panel, and the obligations and change-of-control registers.
• Define, recruit, and mentor other attorney and director roles added as the legal function scales; select, scope, and manage specialist outside counsel, running the panel to budget and bringing recurring work in-house as the function matures.
• Own the negotiation and execution of electric service agreements, large-load tariffs and special contracts, and capacity reservation and deposit structures across Montera's development pipeline.
• Lead large-load interconnection and transmission matters — queue strategy and evidencing, network-upgrade cost allocation and reimbursement, transmission service, and substation and facilities ownership boundaries.
• Structure power procurement across utility, wholesale, and behind-the-meter sources — take-or-pay and minimum-demand terms, credit support, contribution in aid of construction, and energization milestones and remedies.
• Advise on on-site and bridge generation (gas, turbines, fuel cells, and storage), together with the supply, EPC, and operating agreements behind them and the parallel-operation and permitting interfaces.
• Lead energy regulatory strategy before FERC and state commissions — large-load tariff proceedings, cost-allocation dockets, interventions, and regulatory audit and information requests.
• Negotiate and close commercial agreements across the business (MSAs, equipment procurement, technology and vendor, consulting and professional services, confidentiality and teaming), and support customer-facing agreements in partnership with the CLO and the Real Estate & Development DGC — allocating power risk inside customer agreements (capacity and availability commitments, SLA exposure, utility cost pass-through, curtailment and demand response, excusable delay tied to utility performance).
• Support power and real estate diligence on site acquisition and land enablement; support lender, sponsor, and customer diligence across the contract portfolio (consents, direct agreements, assignability, change of control); provide training to the business on key terms and escalation protocols; and contribute to Board and sponsor reporting on contracted capacity, energy risk, commercial exposure, and the development of the legal function.

Qualifications

• J.D. from an accredited law school; admitted to practice and in good standing with at least one U.S. state bar, and able to register as in-house counsel where required in the state of residence.
• 15–20 years of relevant legal experience at a law firm, a utility, developer or operator, or in-house. Candidates with 10+ years and exceptional depth will be considered.
• Deep energy transactional and regulatory experience, with demonstrated end-to-end ownership of interconnection, electric service, and power purchase agreements as the responsible attorney rather than in a supporting role.
• Strong command of U.S. wholesale and retail power markets, FERC and state-commission practice, and large-load tariff structures.
• Demonstrated commercial negotiation ability across a broad range of agreement types, with a track record of taking on unfamiliar subject matter and reaching a defensible answer quickly.
• Sound judgment on when to bring in outside counsel and when to decide, with the discipline to run specialist firms to defined scope and budget.
• Strong business acumen, with the ability to balance legal risk, schedule, and commercial priorities.
• Exceptional negotiation, drafting, and stakeholder-management skills.
• Comfort operating with autonomy in a fast-moving, founder-led environment without established precedent or process.

Preferred

• Data center, large-load, or other energy-intensive industrial development experience.
• Experience negotiating directly with investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, or municipal providers.
• Experience with behind-the-meter, bridge, or on-site generation, including gas, storage, or fuel cells.
• Experience building legal-department infrastructure, including templates, playbooks, delegation of authority, contract lifecycle management, and outside-counsel panel management.
• Hyperscale leasing exposure, from either side of the table.
• Project finance and lender diligence.

Benefits

• Comprehensive Health Coverage: We pay 90% of health premiums for employees and their dependents.
• Generous Time Off: Up to 8 weeks of paid time off per year, which includes holidays, PTO, and sick time.
• Parental Leave: Up to 8 weeks of paid time off after 6 months of employment.
• Financial Security: 401(k) plan with immediate eligibility, no vesting requirement, and employer match contributions up to 6%.
• Learning & Development Reimbursement: Up to $3,500 reimbursed annually for approved courses, certifications, conferences and professional development opportunities.
• Extra Support: Remote work stipend to help you stay connected.