Overview
Associate General Counsel Jobs in United States at Tapio
Title: Associate General Counsel
Company: Tapio
Location: United States
Associate General Counsel – Utility-Scale Renewable Energy
Company: Private Equity-Backed Renewable Energy Investment & Development Platform
Job Titles: Associate General Counsel; Deputy General Counsel
Compensation: Competitive Base Salary + Bonus + Long-Term Incentive Opportunity
MUST HAVE MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE WITH UTILITY-SCALE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSACTIONS.
The Company
Our client is a growing renewable energy investment, development, and ownership platform focused on acquiring and advancing utility-scale energy infrastructure projects across the United States.
The company combines an investor’s approach to value creation with deep experience across project development, financing, construction, and long-term ownership. With an active transaction pipeline and a lean, high-performing team, the business is now bringing its first dedicated legal leader in-house.
The Opportunity
Our client is seeking an Associate General Counsel to serve as the company’s primary in-house legal partner across project acquisitions, commercial contracting, procurement, financing, and broader corporate matters.
This is a hands-on role for a commercially minded renewable energy attorney who wants direct exposure to senior leadership and meaningful ownership over active transactions. The successful candidate will personally draft, review, and negotiate core project agreements while also determining how and when outside counsel should be used.
Key Responsibilities
- Lead legal support for utility-scale project acquisitions, including diligence, transaction structuring, negotiation, and closing.
- Draft and negotiate letters of intent, term sheets, purchase agreements, EPC contracts, equipment supply agreements, service agreements, and related project documentation.
- Advise on warranties, performance obligations, liquidated damages, change orders, completion requirements, domestic content, tariffs, equipment eligibility, and supply-chain risk.
- Support project debt, tax equity, sponsor equity, and other financing processes.
- Translate legal risk into clear, commercially practical recommendations for senior leadership and investment teams.
- Establish internal processes for contract review, approvals, document management, escalation, and contract administration.
- Determine which matters should be handled internally and manage outside counsel around scope, budget, priorities, and timing.
- Support broader strategic matters involving entity structure, partnerships, capital strategy, platform growth, and long-term value creation.
- Help the company adopt efficient legal processes and appropriate technology as the function develops.
Qualifications
- 7–10+ years of legal experience, with meaningful exposure to utility-scale renewable energy.
- Direct experience drafting and negotiating project acquisition, EPC, equipment supply, service, financing, or comparable infrastructure agreements.
- Strong understanding of how project documentation interacts with development, construction, financing, operations, and long-term ownership.
- Demonstrated commercial judgment and the ability to distinguish material risk from theoretical risk.
- Experience managing outside counsel while retaining internal ownership of transaction strategy and key legal decisions.
- Ability to operate independently as the company’s primary internal legal resource.
- Active license and good standing in at least one U.S. jurisdiction.
Strongly Preferred
- Experience with a renewable energy developer, IPP, infrastructure investor, project sponsor, or leading energy practice.
- Exposure to project finance, tax equity, supply-chain regulation, or utility-scale equipment procurement.
- Experience across both law firm and in-house environments.
- Experience building or improving an internal legal function.
- Energy storage experience is valuable but not required.
The Ideal Profile
The strongest candidate will be a hands-on lawyer who is comfortable working in the details while also acting as a strategic business partner.
They will be practical, direct, commercially minded, and capable of helping the business move quickly without losing sight of material downside risk. This is not a role for someone who simply identifies problems; it is for someone who can assess the issue, explain its significance, and recommend a workable path forward.
Why Join
This is a rare opportunity to become the first dedicated legal leader within a growing renewable energy platform.
The Associate General Counsel will step directly into active acquisitions, procurement, EPC, and financing processes, work closely with senior leadership, and shape how the legal function supports the company’s growth. The role also provides a clear path to broader legal leadership as the business expands.
