Document:

Exhibit
10.17

 

 

 

 

Dear Andy,

 

On behalf of Archer Aviation, Inc. (“the
Company”), we are delighted to offer you a full time position within our organization. This letter will outline the terms of this
offer:

 

	Title	Chief Legal Officer
	Start
    Date	Monday, July 5, 2021
	COVID
    Office Policy	Currently because of the COVID situation the Archer Bay Area offices are closed for anyone who does not need to be in the physical office. Pending the status of COVID vaccinations, the Archer management team does expect to re-open the office in 2021. Once the office is re-opened, there is an expectation for local employees to be back in the office following 30 days from reopening. Employees relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area are expected to be onsite within 90 days of reopening.
	Salary	$500,000 annually, payable in semi-monthly installments (less customary payroll deductions), subject to periodic review and adjustment in the Company’s discretion. The Company will make future adjustments in compensation plan structure, if any, in its sole and absolute discretion.
	Annual Performance

 Bonus	You will also be eligible for an annual performance based bonus of $350,000 payable on the regularly scheduled payroll date following year end. If the start date is during the calendar year the bonus will be prorated. As always, your employment is at-will, and may be ended by the employee or the Company at any time. Should either party terminate employment, or give notice of same, before the Payroll Date, this annual performance bonus shall be nullified.

	Equity	Archer Aviation Inc. (“Archer”) has agreed to effect a business combination
                                                                          with Atlas Crest Investment Corp., pursuant to which Archer will merge with and into a subsidiary of Atlas (the
                                                                          “Merger”). After the Merger, it is expected that the newly combined company (“Atlas”) will be listed on the
                                                                          NYSE under the new ticker symbol “ACHR.”

                                                                           

                                                                          Subject to the closing of the Merger, Archer will
    use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause Atlas to grant you a restricted stock unit award to acquire 1,000,000 shares of Class
    A Common Stock of Atlas (the “Atlas Class A Common”); provided, however, that the Award shall in all events be subject to,
    and conditioned upon, the following: (i) the approval of the Board of Directors of Atlas (the “Atlas Board”); (ii) the effectiveness
    of a registration statement covering the Award; (iii) the closing of the Merger; and (iv) your continued employment with Archer through
    the date of grant of the Award.

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

 

    

     

    

 

 

 

		
    If the Award is granted, the vesting of
the Award will be time-based as follows: The Award will vest at the rate of 25% of the total number of shares subject to the Award on
the Quarterly Vest Date (expected to be set at February 15th, May 15th, August 15th and November 15th of each year (each, a “Quarterly
Vest Date”)) that occurs after the one-year anniversary of your employment start date with Archer, and an additional 1/16th of
the total number of shares on each Quarterly Vest Date thereafter. The Award will be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in
Atlas’s equity plan and its standard form of restricted stock unit agreement.

     

    Please be aware that Archer makes no representation
    or guarantee about (a) whether or not the Merger will close (it may not); or (b) the future value of the Award or the Atlas Class A Common
    shares underlying the Award. If the Merger closes and the Award is granted, the value of the Atlas Class A Common shares subject to the
    Award may increase in value, decrease in value, or stay the same as on the date the Award is granted.

     

    If the Merger does not occur during a period of time
    determined by the Board of Directors of Archer (the “Archer Board”) in its sole discretion, then Archer will instead grant
    you another form of equity compensation that the Archer Board determines, in its sole discretion, to be appropriate and comparable at
    such time.

     

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

 

    

     

    

 

 

 

	Benefits	Healthcare

                                                                                As a full-time employee, you are eligible to participate in the Company’s group health insurance and other employee benefit plans and programs that are generally made available to our employees, subject to eligibility requirements, enrollment criteria, and the other terms and conditions of such plans and programs. The Company reserves the right to amend, modify, or rescind any employee benefit plan or program and/or change employee contribution amounts to benefit costs without notice at its discretion. Healthcare will enroll at the start of every month (i.e. if you start on June 15th, you won’t be enrolled into healthcare until July 1st).   

 

		
    

     

    401k

    As a full-time employee, you are eligible to participate
    in the Company’s 401k benefit plan. The Company will match 50% of every dollar up to the maximum amount of employee contribution.

     

    Learning & Development Policy

    Archer believes that effective learning and development
    (“L&D”) benefits the individual employee, as well as the company as a whole, to achieve our mission. Archer encourages
    our employees to enhance knowledge and skills in their respective fields, and recognizes that this may mean taking classes or attending
    seminars, conferences, and workshops. Archer offers a learning and development benefit of up to $2,000 per year for each employee.

     

    Google Drive: Healthcare & 401k information
    can be found here.

     

    Vacation Policy

    As a full-time exempt employee, you are eligible
    for unlimited paid time off (PTO). Requests must be approved by your manager.

     

    Parental Leave

    Once you have at least six (6) months of continuous
    service, you will be eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of paid parental leave. The leave must be taken within the first twelve (12)
    months after the birth, adoption, or placement of the child(ren). You will continue to receive 100% of your base salary from Archer while
    out on Paid Parental Leave minus any applicable federal, state, and local taxes.

     

    Severance

    You will be eligible to enter into a Change in
    Control and Severance Agreement (the “Severance Agreement”) applicable to you based on your position within the Company. Any
    Severance Agreement will become effective as of your Start Date (the “Effective Date”). The Severance Agreement will specify
    the severance payments and benefits you may become entitled to receive in connection with a qualifying termination in connection with
    a change in control of the Company (which the Company anticipates will include salary continuation, payment of target bonus, and 100%
    acceleration of unvested equity), as well as certain qualifying terminations of your employment with the Company outside of a change in
    control (which the Company anticipates will include salary continuation, payment of a proportional bonus for the salary continuation period,
    and acceleration of unvested equity through the salary continuation period).

     

    For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Award
    nor any Follow-On Award shall be subject to any vesting acceleration pursuant to the Severance Agreement unless and until such awards
    are actually granted. Further, the consummation of the Merger shall not be deemed to constitute a Change in Control (as defined in the
    Severance Agreement).

     

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

 

    

     

    

 

 

 

	At-Will
    Employment and

 Termination	
    Employment at the Company is “at will.”
    This means that you may resign from the Company at any time for any or no reason and the Company has the right to terminate this employment
    relationship with or without cause at any time. We request, however, that in the event of resignation, you give the Company at least two
    weeks’ notice. Neither this letter nor any other communication, either written or oral, should be construed as a contract of employment
    for a given length of time or term.

     

    You further acknowledge that the Company may modify
    job titles, salaries, and benefits from time to time as it deems necessary.

     

	Proprietary
    Information

 and Arbitration

 Agreement	Like all Company employees, you will be required to sign, as a condition of your employment with the Company, the Company’s standard employee Proprietary Information and Arbitration Agreement (the “Proprietary Agreement”). We encourage you to read this document carefully, and to seek independent legal counsel if you have any questions about the meaning or scope of these requirements. Please note that we must receive your signed Confidentiality Agreement before your first day of employment.
	Pre-Hire Checklist

 Agreement	You will be required to sign, as a condition of your employment with the Company, the Company’s standard pre-hire checklist (the “Pre-hire Checklist Agreement”). We would like this signed at the time of your offer letter.

	Confidentiality	
    The Company is offering you employment based on
    your personal skills and experience, and not due to your knowledge of any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information of any
    prior employer. Should you accept this offer, we do not want you to make use of or disclose any such information or to retain or disclose
    any materials from a prior or current employer. In this regard, you should be extremely careful not to bring to the Company, even if inadvertently,
    any documents or other materials in tangible form belonging to or acquired from any prior employer. This includes electronic or hardcopy
    documents, such as (but not limited to) customer lists, sales reports, strategy documents, sales/marketing promotional materials, contracts,
    slide presentations, email correspondence, and training materials.

     

    The nature of the work performed at the Company
    is strictly confidential. Ethical standards, legal requirements, and sound business practice all require that the Company’s employees
    never violate corporate issues of confidentiality. All business matters are property of the Company and its employees are expected to
    preserve and protect all confidential information of the Company. By executing this letter agreement below, you agree that during the
    course of your employment, and thereafter, you shall not use or disclose, in whole or in part, any of the Company’s (or its clients’)
    trade secrets or confidential and proprietary information to any person, firm, corporation, or other entity, for any reason or purpose
    whatsoever other than in the course of your employment with the Company, or with the prior written permission of the Company’s founders.
    By executing this letter agreement below, you also represent and warrant to the Company that you have no agreement with, or duty to, any
    previous employer or other person or entity that would prohibit, prevent, inhibit, limit, or conflict with the performance of your duties
    to the Company.

     

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

 

    

     

    

 

 

 

	Miscellaneous	
    You agree that, during the term of your employment
    with the Company, you will not engage in any other employment, occupation, consulting, or other business activity directly related to
    the business in which the Company is now involved or becomes involved during the term of your employment, nor will you engage in any other
    activities that conflict with your obligations to the Company.

     

    As a Company employee, you will be expected to
    abide by the Company’s rules and standards, which may include signing an acknowledgment that you have read and that you understand
    the Company’s rules of conduct.

     

    The Company reserves the right to conduct background
    investigations and/or reference checks on all of its potential employees. Your job offer, therefore, is contingent upon a clearance of
    such a background investigation and/or reference check, if any.

     

    For purposes of federal immigration law, you will
    be required to provide to the Company documentary evidence of your identity and eligibility for employment in the United States. Such
    documentation must be provided to us within three (3) business days of your date of hire, or our employment relationship with you may
    be terminated.

     

    The validity, interpretation, construction, and performance
    of this letter agreement, and all acts and transactions pursuant hereto and the rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be
    governed, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of state of California, without giving effect to principles of conflicts
    of law.

     

    This letter agreement and the attached Confidentiality
    Agreement sets forth the entire agreement and understanding of the parties relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes all prior
    or contemporaneous discussions, understandings, and agreements, whether oral or written, between them relating to the subject matter hereof,
    including but not limited to, any representations made during your recruitment, interviews, or pre-employment negotiations, whether written
    or oral.

     

    

 

	 	This letter, including, but not limited to, its
    at-will employment provision, may not be modified or amended except by a written agreement signed by the Co-Founder or President of the
    Company and you.

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

 

    

     

    

 

 

 

We look forward to the possibility of you joining
the Archer Aviation, Inc. team. If the above terms and conditions are acceptable to you, please sign below to signify your understanding
and acceptance of these terms and to acknowledge that no one at the Company has made any other representation to you. You should retain
a copy for your records, and return the executed original to me. Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions in the interim.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brett Adcock & Adam Goldstein

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

 

    

     

    

 

 

 

Brett
Adcock:

 

	/s/ Brett Adcock	 

Signature

 

	President	 

Title

 

	05 / 05 / 2021	 

Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

 

Andy
Missan

 

	/s/ Andy Missan	 

Signature

 

	05 / 05 / 2021	 

Date (MM/DD/YYYY)

 

Archer Aviation Inc.Exhibit 10.18

 

 

 

 

Dear Ben Lu,

 

On behalf of Archer Aviation, Inc. (“the
Company”), we are delighted to offer you a full time position within our organization. This letter will outline the terms of this
offer:

 

	Title	Chief Financial Officer
	Start Date	July 12, 2021
	COVID Office Policy	Per state and local regulations, Archer’s
    Bay Area offices are now back open.  Local employees have transitioned back into the office, and employees relocating to
    the San Francisco Bay Area are expected to be onsite within 90 days of reopening.
	Salary	$500,000 annually, payable in semi-monthly
    installments (less customary payroll deductions), subject to periodic review and adjustment in the Company’s discretion. The
    Company will make future adjustments in compensation plan structure, if any, in its sole and absolute discretion.
	Annual Performance Bonus	You will also be eligible for an annual performance based bonus up to $250,000
    (the “Performance Bonus” at (50% of salary) payable on the regularly scheduled payroll date following year end. Note
    this bonus will be prorated based on your start date. As always, your employment is at-will, and may be ended by the employee or
    the Company at any time. Should either party terminate employment, or give notice of same, before the Payroll Date, this annual performance
    bonus shall be nullified.
	Equity	Archer Aviation, Inc. (“Archer”)
    has agreed to effect a business combination with Atlas Crest Investment Corp., pursuant to which Archer will merge with and into
    a subsidiary of Atlas (the “Merger”). After the Merger, it is expected that the newly combined company (“Atlas”)
    will be listed on the NYSE under the new ticker symbol “ACHR.”

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

     

     

    

 

 

 

	 	Subject
                                            to the closing of the Merger, Archer will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause
                                            Atlas to grant you a restricted stock unit award to acquire shares of Class A Common Stock
                                            of Atlas (the “Atlas Class A Common”) having a target grant date value of $6,000,000
                                            (but not more than 600,000 Atlas Class A Common Shares (the “Award”)); provided,
                                            however, that the Award shall in all events be subject to, and conditioned upon, the following:
                                            (i) the approval of the Board of Directors of Atlas (the “Atlas Board”); (ii)
                                            the effectiveness of a registration statement covering the Award; (iii) the closing of the
                                            Merger; and (iv) your continued employment with Archer through the date of grant of the Award.
                                            The number of shares subject to the Award (and the method used to calculate the value of
                                            the Atlas Class A Common in connection therewith) shall be determined after the closing of
                                            the Merger in the sole discretion of the Atlas Board or a committee thereof (provided, that
                                            the number of Atlas Class A Common shares subject to the Award shall not exceed the maximum
                                            number of shares set forth above).

                                          

                                         If
                                         the Award is granted, the vesting of the Award will be time-based as follows: The Award will
                                         vest at the rate of 33% of the total number of shares subject to the Award on the Quarterly
                                         Vest Date (expected to be set at February 15th, May 15th, August 15th and November 15th of each
                                         year (each, a “Quarterly Vest Date”)) that occurs after the one-year anniversary
                                         of your employment start date with Archer, and an additional 1/12th of the total number of shares
                                         on each Quarterly Vest Date thereafter. The Award will be subject to the terms and conditions
                                         set forth in Atlas’s equity plan and its standard form of restricted stock unit agreement.

                                          

                                         Please
                                         be aware that Archer makes no representation or guarantee about (a) whether or not the Merger
                                         will close (it may not); or (b) the future value of the Awards or the Atlas Class A Common shares
                                         underlying the Awards. If the Merger closes and any Award is granted, the value of the Atlas
                                         Class A Common shares subject to such Award may increase in value, decrease in value, or stay
                                         the same as on the date the applicable Award is granted.

                                          

                                         If
                                         the Merger does not occur during a period of time determined by the Board of Directors of Archer
                                         (the “Archer Board”) in its sole discretion, then Archer will instead grant you
                                         another form of equity compensation that the Archer Board determines, in its sole discretion,
                                         to be appropriate and comparable at such time.

	Benefits	Healthcare

                                   As
                                   a full-time employee, you are eligible to participate in the Company’s group health insurance
                                   and other employee benefit plans and programs that are generally made available to our employees,
                                   subject to eligibility requirements, enrollment criteria, and the other terms and conditions of such
                                   plans and programs. The Company reserves the right to amend, modify, or rescind any employee benefit
                                   plan or program and/or change employee contribution amounts to benefit costs without notice at its
                                   discretion. Healthcare will enroll at the start of every month (i.e. if you start on June 15th, you
                                   won’t be enrolled into healthcare until July 1st).

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

     

     

    

 

 

 

		
    401k

    As a full-time employee, you are eligible to participate
    in the Company’s 401k benefit plan. The Company will match 50% of every dollar up to the maximum amount of employee contribution.

     

    Learning & Development Policy

    Archer believes that effective learning and development
    (“L&D”) benefits the individual employee, as well as the company as a whole, to achieve our mission. Archer encourages
    our employees to enhance knowledge and skills in their respective fields, and recognizes that this may mean taking classes or attending
    seminars, conferences, and workshops. Archer offers a learning and development benefit of up to $2,000 per year for each employee.

     

    Google Drive: Healthcare & 401k information can
    be found here.

     

    Vacation Policy

    As a full-time exempt employee, you are eligible
    for unlimited paid time off (PTO). Requests must be approved by your manager.

     

    Parental Leave

    Once you have at least six (6) months of continuous
    service, you will be eligible for up to twelve (12) weeks of paid parental leave. The leave must be taken within the first twelve (12)
    months after the birth, adoption, or placement of the child(ren). You will continue to receive 100% of your base salary from Archer while
    out on Paid Parental Leave minus any applicable federal, state, and local taxes.

     

    Severance

    You will be eligible to enter into a Change
in Control and Severance Agreement (the “Severance Agreement”) applicable to you based on your position within the Company.
Any Severance Agreement will become effective as of your Start Date (the “Effective Date”). The Severance Agreement will
specify the severance payments and benefits you may become entitled to receive in connection with a qualifying termination in connection
with a change in control of the Company (which the Company anticipates will include salary continuation, payment of target bonus, and
100% acceleration of unvested equity), as well as certain qualifying terminations of your employment with the Company outside of a change
in control (which the Company anticipates will include salary continuation, payment of a proportional bonus for the salary continuation
period, and acceleration of unvested equity through the salary continuation period). For the avoidance of doubt, neither the Award nor
any Follow-On Award shall be subject to any vesting acceleration pursuant to the Severance Agreement unless and until such awards are
actually granted. Further, the consummation of the Merger shall not be deemed to constitute a Change in Control (as defined in the Severance
Agreement).

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

     

     

    

 

 

 

	At-Will
    Employment and Termination	Employment at the Company is “at will.”
    This means that you may resign from the Company at any time for any or no reason and the Company has the right to terminate this
    employment relationship with or without cause at any time. We request, however, that in the event of resignation, you give the Company
    at least two weeks’ notice. Neither this letter nor any other communication, either written or oral, should be construed as
    a contract of employment for a given length of time or term.

     

    You further acknowledge that the Company may
modify job titles, salaries, equity award entitlements, and benefits from time to time as it deems necessary.

	Proprietary
    Information and Arbitration Agreement	Like
    all Company employees, you will be required to sign, as a condition of your employment with the Company, the Company’s standard
    employee Proprietary Information and Arbitration Agreement (the “Proprietary Agreement”). We encourage you to
    read this document carefully, and to seek independent legal counsel if you have any questions about the meaning or scope of these
    requirements. Please note that we must receive your signed Confidentiality Agreement before your first day of employment.
	Pre-Hire Checklist Agreement	You will be required to sign, as a condition
    of your employment with the Company, the Company’s standard pre-hire checklist (the “Pre-hire Checklist Agreement”).
    We would like this signed at the time of your offer letter.
	Confidentiality	The Company is offering you employment
    based on your personal skills and experience, and not due to your knowledge of any confidential, proprietary, or trade secret information
    of any prior employer. Should you accept this offer, we do not want you to make use of or disclose any such information or to retain
    or disclose any materials from a prior or current employer. In this regard, you should be extremely careful not to bring to the Company,
    even if inadvertently, any documents or other materials in tangible form belonging to or acquired from any prior employer. This includes
    electronic or hardcopy documents, such as (but not limited to) customer lists, sales reports, strategy documents, sales/marketing
    promotional materials, contracts, slide presentations, email correspondence, and training materials.

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

     

     

    

 

 

 

		The nature of the work performed at the Company
    is strictly confidential

     

    Ethical standards, legal requirements, and sound
    business practice all require that the Company’s employees never violate corporate issues of confidentiality. All business
    matters are property of the Company and its employees are expected to preserve and protect all confidential information of the Company.
    By executing this letter agreement below, you agree that during the course of your employment, and thereafter, you shall not use
    or disclose, in whole or in part, any of the Company’s (or its clients’) trade secrets or confidential and proprietary
    information to any person, firm, corporation, or other entity, for any reason or purpose whatsoever other than in the course of your
    employment with the Company, or with the prior written permission of the Company’s founders. By executing this letter agreement
    below, you also represent and warrant to the Company that you have no agreement with, or duty to, any previous employer or other
    person or entity that would prohibit, prevent, inhibit, limit, or conflict with the performance of your duties to the Company.

	Miscellaneous	You agree that, during the term of your employment
    with the Company, you will not engage in any other employment, occupation, consulting, or other business activity directly related
    to the business in which the Company is now involved or becomes involved during the term of your employment, nor will you engage
    in any other activities that conflict with your obligations to the Company.

     

    As a Company employee, you will be expected
    to abide by the Company’s rules and standards, which may include signing an acknowledgment that you have read and that you
    understand the Company’s rules of conduct.

     

    The Company reserves the right to conduct background
    investigations and/or reference checks on all of its potential employees. Your job offer, therefore, is contingent upon a clearance
    of such a background investigation and/or reference check, if any.

     

    For purposes of federal immigration law, you
    will be required to provide to the Company documentary evidence of your identity and eligibility for employment in the United States.
    Such documentation must be provided to us within three (3) business days of your date of hire, or our employment relationship with
    you may be terminated.

    

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

     

     

    

 

 

 

	 	The validity, interpretation, construction, and performance of this letter agreement, and all acts and transactions pursuant hereto and the rights and obligations of the parties hereto shall be governed, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of state of California, without giving effect to principles of conflicts of law.

                            

                           This letter agreement and the attached Confidentiality Agreement sets forth the entire agreement and understanding of the parties relating to the subject matter herein and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous discussions, understandings, and agreements, whether oral or written, between them relating to the subject matter hereof, including but not limited to, any representations made during your recruitment, interviews, or pre-employment negotiations, whether written or oral.

                            

                           This letter, including, but not limited to, its at-will employment provision, may not be modified or amended except by a written agreement signed by the Co-Founder or President of the Company and you.

 

We look forward to the possibility of you joining
the Archer Aviation, Inc. team. If the above terms and conditions are acceptable to you, please sign below to signify your understanding
and acceptance of these terms and to acknowledge that no one at the Company has made any other representation to you. We kindly ask that
you respond to this offer by June 25, 2021. You should retain a copy for your records, and return the executed original to me.
Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions in the interim.

 

Sincerely,

 

Brett Adcock & Adam Goldstein

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

     

     

    

 

 

 

	Adam Goldstein:	 
	 	 
	/s/ Adam Goldstein	 
	 	 
	Signature	 
	 	 
	CoCEO	 
	Title	 
	 	 
	06 / 24 / 2021	 
	Date (MM/DD/YYYY)	 
	 	 
	Ben Lu:	 
	 	 
	/s/ Ben Lu	 
	 	 
	Signature	 
	 	 
	06 / 24 / 2021	 
	Date (MM/DD/YYYY)	 

 

Archer Aviation Inc.

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