Director, Trade Compliance
Impulse Space
Legal
USD 160k-190k / year + Equity
Posted on Oct 17, 2025
As Director, Trade Compliance, at Impulse, you are an integral part of our Legal & Regulatory team responsible for leading our export/import compliance program to navigate ITAR, EAR, and global trade regs in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment. You would report directly to the VP for Regulatory and Government Affairs, and your job will be to mitigate risks for our Mira and Helios platforms while enabling rapid scaling. This role demands hands-on expertise to support engineering, supply chain, and business dev amid growing DoD partnerships and international ops.
- Department
- Operations
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Location
- Redondo Beach
- Workplace type
- Onsite
- Compensation
- $160,000 - $190,000 / year
Responsibilities
- Own and manage Impulse Space’s existing trade compliance program
- Support day-to-day compliance program activities (e.g., conducting restricted party screenings, new business partner due diligence; government program compliance)
- Create and implement additional internal controls with coordination and collaboration with the different business areas (Business Dev; Engineering; Mission Management; Security/Facilities; Supply Chain; Shipping)
- Maintain effective compliance record-keeping and tracking using tools like Smartsheet, Confluence, and Jira
- Deliver company-wide training (e.g., new hire, TAA-specific); leverage Smartsheet, Confluence, Jira for recordkeeping, automated screenings, and IT/HR coordination on US Person verification and secure tech data sharing
- Collaborate with Supply Chain and Procurement team to perform restricted parties screenings (vendor, customer, as needed)
- Drive ITAR/EAR license submissions, commodity classifications, and resolutions with DDTC, BIS, DoD, and Customs; handle exportability reviews for high-velocity launches
- Coordinate with the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies as
- necessary to resolve export issues and/or administrative and regulatory requirements
- affecting exportability
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree (STEM, Law, or International Relations preferred)
- 8+ years in defense/aerospace trade compliance, including as Empowered Official managing export authorizations and audits
- Proven track record securing ITAR/EAR licenses for controlled tech/hardware in high-stakes environments
- Deep knowledge of US export regs (ITAR, EAR, OFAC) and international trade frameworks
Preferred Skills and Experience
- 5+ years in launch vehicles, satellites, or space systems (e.g., handling propulsion, avionics exports)
- Experience at scaling startups or primes with pragmatic, business-aligned compliance
- Security Clearance (Secret or higher) a plus; travel willingness for agency meetings/DC ops
Additional Information:
Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
About Impulse Space
Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.
Our Hiring Process
Stage 1:
Application Received
Stage 2:
Resume Review
Stage 3:
Intro Phone Interview
Stage 4:
Technical Phone Interview(s)
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