Trade Compliance Manager

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and stay ahead of evolving threats.

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.

Role Overview:

CHAOS Industries is seeking a Trade Compliance Manager to support the full scope of our export compliance program as the company scales production and delivery of its dual-use products to U.S. Government, allied, and commercial customers. You will prepare and administer export authorizations; review and approve shipments, travel, and visits; support classification determinations; and maintain records. You will partner closely with Program, Engineering, Business Development, Contracts, and Security teams to translate export control requirements into practical guidance they can follow as they pursue international opportunities, work with foreign partners, and deliver to customers. This is a hands-on role for an experienced export control professional who is comfortable advising program teams directly, making calls with limited oversight, and building processes.

Responsibilities:

• Prepare, submit, and administer export authorizations, including ITAR and BIS licenses, through DECCS and SNAP-R; track provisos, expirations, and reporting obligations.
• Draft and administer ITAR agreements, including Technical Assistance Agreements and Manufacturing License Agreements, and advise program teams on operating within their scope.
• Review and approve exports, imports, foreign travel, and foreign visitor requests, and advise functional teams on how to conduct those activities within the scope of applicable licenses, exemptions, exceptions, and regulations.
• Determine and document the applicability of ITAR exemptions and EAR license exceptions for shipments, technical data transfers, and travel.
• Support ECCN and USML classification determinations and maintain the classification database linking each part to its export classification.
• Manage restricted party and sanctions screening and resolve escalations; obtain and review end-user and end-use certifications and consignee statements.
• Maintain export records, including license decrementing and exemption and exception logs, so that every license, classification, exemption, and shipment is supported by a complete, audit-ready file.
• Help develop and maintain export compliance procedures and training, and conduct periodic shipment and license audits with corrective action where needed.
• Research, analyze, and interpret the ITAR and EAR; monitor regulatory developments and advise stakeholders on business impact.
• Support international demonstrations, field deployments, and hand carries, including temporary export authorizations, equipment return tracking, and pre-travel briefings for deploying personnel.
• Review and approve foreign national access to controlled technical data and facilities, and support technology control plans and visitor procedures with Security.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree and at least 7 years of trade compliance experience with an emphasis on export controls, preferably in aerospace/defense, government contracting, or a related technology sector; or a Master's degree and at least 5 years.
• Strong knowledge of the ITAR and EAR with demonstrated ability to research, interpret, and advise internal stakeholders on compliance requirements.
• Experience preparing, submitting, and administering export license applications and agreements, and validating the applicability of ITAR exemptions and EAR license exceptions.
• Working knowledge of customs fundamentals, including HTS classification, valuation, and country of origin, sufficient to recognize customs issues and coordinate with the team’s customs lead and brokers.
• Experience reviewing and approving shipments, travel, or visitor requests in a compliance capacity.
• Strong judgment and comfort operating with significant autonomy and limited day-to-day oversight.
• This position requires access to technical data and technology controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
• Applicants must be a U.S. person as defined in 22 C.F.R. §120.62 and 15 C.F.R. § 772.1 – a U.S. citizen or national, a lawful permanent resident, or an individual granted refugee or asylee status (a protected individual under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)) – or be eligible to obtain any export authorization or license required for the role

Preferred Requirements:

• Prior experience in a defense, aerospace, or sensors/radar business handling ITAR- and EAR-controlled hardware and technical data.
• Experience filing through DECCS and SNAP-R.
• Experience supporting temporary exports, demonstrations, or international field work under ITAR exemptions and EAR license exceptions.
• Experience with trade compliance or screening systems (e.g., NetSuite, SAP GTS, OCR, Descartes).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of Defense security clearance.

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch while you're working onsite, fully-stocked kitchen, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 500+ employees and counting across 5 global offices

Salary Range: $130,000 - $165,000

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

Recruiting Agencies: CHAOS Industries does not accept unsolicited resumes or outreach. Unsolicited submissions will not be reviewed or compensated.

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