Legal Compliance & Security Counsel, Executive Director 18134

Job Description and Requirements

Job Title: Executive Director, Legal, Compliance & Security, AGI

Reporting to: VP and GM, Ansys Government Initiatives

Role Level: Executive Director

Job Location: Exton, PA

We Are:

Ansys Government Initiatives (AGI) provides advanced engineering simulation and digital mission solutions to support U.S. national security, defense, space, and microelectronics programs. As a partner to the defense community since 1989, AGI helps customers apply Ansys & Synopsys software to solve complex, multidomain problems, connect engineering teams, and validate designs throughout the product life cycle. AGI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Synopsys, Inc.

You Are:

You are a strategic, business-focused attorney and compliance leader with an active U.S. security clearance and deep expertise in government and commercial contracting for software, SaaS, and advanced technology solutions. You have a command of the regulatory environment that governs high-security, high-consequence technologies-spanning federal acquisition, cyber requirements, and national security frameworks. You excel at transforming complex legal and regulatory obligations into operationally sound business processes. You work seamlessly across Sales, Product, Security, and Executive leadership to balance speed with compliance, enabling growth while protecting enterprise assets and preserving contractual integrity. You have a proven track record of managing risk in both federal and commercial landscapes, navigating FAR/DFARS, agency supplements, data rights, and software-specific clauses with precision.

You are deeply experienced in overseeing corporate compliance programs, including National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) obligations, enterprise cyber controls, internal investigations, and operational mandates tied to government contract authorities. You understand how to build and mature legal, compliance, and security functions that scale with the business.

You are proactive, detail-oriented, and thrive in roles that require both independent judgment and cross-functional teamwork. Your leadership inspires confidence, and your adaptability ensures you deliver results even amidst shifting priorities. You’re equally comfortable in the boardroom, in negotiations with prime contractors and government contracting officers, and in working sessions with engineers and security personnel. Above all, you bring sound judgment, integrity, and a proactive approach to safeguarding the organization and its mission.

What You’ll Be Doing:

• Leading all legal, compliance, and security functions, ensuring aligned, enterprise-wide governance across contracting, national security, and business operations.
• Owning the full contract lifecycle management process, from intake to negotiation to post-award compliance, strengthening controls and improving contract operations.
• Structuring deals to preserve commercial terms and pricing while ensuring adherence to federal acquisition regulations (FAR/DFARS), flow-downs, agency supplements, and specialized software clauses.
• Providing strategic legal and compliance support during proposal and capture phases, including RFP/RFQ/BAA/OTA reviews, organizational conflict of interest (OCI) assessments, risk reviews and contract modifications.
• Designing and maintaining compliance frameworks that integrate export controls, cybersecurity mandates, data privacy obligations, records management, ethics, and reporting requirements.
• Overseeing National Industrial Security Program (NISP) compliance in close partnership with the Facility Security Officer (FSO) and Security Operations, ensuring full alignment to NISPOM, DoD, and customer-specific requirements.
• Leading incident response, internal investigations, and corrective action planning related to compliance, contractual, or security events.
• Providing executive leadership with clear reporting on legal risk, security posture, regulatory exposure, and compliance program health.
• Building, mentoring, and leading a high-performing team across legal, compliance and security functions.

The Impact You Will Have:

• Enable rapid and compliant growth across federal and commercial markets.
• Protect the company’s intellectual property, technology, and operational integrity through mature legal/compliance frameworks and contract management.

Reduce risk exposure through strong contract lifecycle management, policy governance, and proactive compliance controls.

• Support cross-functional teams with clear guidance on regulatory requirements and best practices.
• Enhance the organization’s reputation as a secure, trusted, reliable partner for government agencies, prime contractors and commercial enterprises.

What You’ll Need:

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree and active license in good standing with a U.S. State Bar
• Extensive experience with government and commercial contracting for software/SaaS, including FAR/DFARS, agency supplements, software and service-specific requirements.
• Demonstrated expertise in drafting, interpreting, and negotiating COTS/SaaS agreements, licenses, data rights, SLAs, and DPAs and complex technology agreements.
• Deep understanding of IP protection, export controls (ITAR/EAR), cybersecurity compliance frameworks, and data privacy laws.
• Proven ability to support capture/proposal processes (RFP/RFQ/BAA/OTA), conduct OCI assessments, manage risk reviews, and oversee contract modifications.
• Familiarity with GovCloud architectures, DoD IL environments, FedRAMP requirements, and Zero Trust patterns.
• Experience partnering with FSO/SecOps on classified programs and NISPOM security and FOCI mitigation compliance requirements.
• Experience with Proxy Board or higher FOCI mitigations.
• Demonstrated success leading and developing high-performing legal, compliance and security teams.

• This position requires the ability to work with the U.S. government and requires an active U.S. government security clearance at the time of hire. Only candidates who meet these requirements will be considered for this role.

Who You Are:

• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen and impeccable legal judgment.
• Clear, confident communicator who builds trust across technical and non-technical teams.
• Proactive, detail-focused, organized, and comfortable navigating ambiguity.
• Collaborative and influential, capable of partnering with executives and cross-functional stakeholders.

Deeply committed to ethics, compliance, continuous learning, and operational excellence.

The Team You’ll Be A Part Of:

You will join a high growth team within the AGI business unit, partnering directly with the VP & GM and collaborating across Sales, Product, Cloud/IT, and Program teams. The AGI team is focused on enabling secure, compliant, and scalable growth in both federal and commercial sectors, with a strong emphasis on innovation, technology protection, and regulatory excellence.

Rewards and Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive range of health, wellness, and financial benefits to cater to your needs. Our total rewards include both monetary and non-monetary offerings. Your recruiter will provide more details about the salary range and benefits during the hiring process.

At Synopsys, we want talented people of every background to feel valued and supported to do their best work. Synopsys considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, military veteran status, or disability.

In addition to the base salary, this role may be eligible for an annual bonus, equity, and other discretionary bonuses. Synopsys offers comprehensive health, wellness, and financial benefits as part of a competitive total rewards package. The actual compensation offered will be based on a number of job-related factors, including location, skills, experience, and education. Your recruiter can share more specific details on the total rewards package upon request. The base salary range for this role is across the U.S.