Trade Compliance Manager

CesiumAstro; München; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

CesiumAstro is seeking a Trade Compliance Manager for its Germany operations. You will develop and lead the company’s integrated trade compliance programme, ensuring adherence to German, EU and U.S. export controls across defence, aerospace and high‑tech programmes.

You will partner with Engineering, Procurement, Supply Chain and Legal to manage licences, CBAM reporting and regulatory audits, while driving continuous improvement and risk management in a dynamic, cross‑functional environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Law, Engineering, Supply Chain or related discipline.
• Minimum 7 years' progressive experience in customs and export compliance.
• Strong knowledge of German and EU export control regulations.
• Strong knowledge of EU customs legislation, customs valuation, tariff classification and origin.
• Experience with BAFA and German Customs (Zoll).
• Experience managing import/export authorisations and customs audits.
• Working knowledge of ITAR, EAR and OFAC requirements affecting European businesses.
• Experience with ERP or Global Trade Management systems (e.g. SAP GTS or equivalent).
• Excellent communication skills in German and English.

Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously improve the Germany Trade Compliance Programme.
• Ensure compliance with German and EU export controls and sanctions.
• Oversee ITAR, EAR, OFAC and related U.S. export controls for European operations.
• Manage BAFA licences, reporting and regulatory correspondence.
• Provide customs compliance leadership under UCC incl. tariff classification and origin.
• Oversee customs authorisations (AEO, Temporary Admission, Inward/Outward Processing).
• Develop strategies to optimise duties, VAT and supply-chain efficiency using FTAs.
• Coordinate CBAM applicability assessments and reporting with procurement/finance.
• Supervise customs brokers, freight forwarders and logistics providers.
• Conduct export classifications and licensing reviews for products and data.
• Develop policies, trainings, audits, monitoring and corrective actions.
• Investigate violations and manage disclosures if required.
• Support mergers, acquisitions and localisation projects from a trade COM perspective.
• Maintain records and monitor regulatory changes.

Skills

Export compliance

ITAR/EAR knowledge

German regulations

Communications (EN/DE)

Regulatory liaison

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business/Law/Engineering

Tools

SAP GTS

Job description

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Trade Compliance Manager to our team in Germany. In this role, you will be responsible for developing, implementing and leading the Company's integrated Trade Compliance Programme across Germany. The role provides strategic leadership for export controls, customs compliance, sanctions, import compliance, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), product origin, customs valuation, duty optimisation, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and applicable U.S. extraterritorial export control requirements affecting European operations.

Acting as the principal subject matter expert, the position ensures compliance with German, European Union, United States and other international trade regulations while enabling business growth across defence, aerospace, space, telecommunications and high-technology programmes.

The role partners with Engineering, Programmes, Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Contracts, Finance, Legal and Executive Leadership and serves as the primary liaison with BAFA, German Customs (Zoll), the European Commission and other regulatory authorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously improve the Germany Trade Compliance Programme.
• Ensure compliance with the German Foreign Trade and Payments Act (AWG), Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV), EU Dual-Use Regulation (EU) 2021/821, EU sanctions and other applicable European trade regulations.
• Ensure compliance with applicable U.S. regulations including ITAR, EAR, OFAC, de minimis, Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR), licence exceptions and re-export requirements affecting German operations.
• Manage BAFA licence applications, amendments, reporting and regulatory correspondence.
• Provide customs compliance leadership under the Union Customs Code (UCC), including tariff classification, customs valuation, origin determination and import procedures.
• Manage customs authorisations including AEO, Temporary Admission, Inward Processing, Outward Processing, Customs Warehousing and Returned Goods Relief.
• Develop strategies to optimise customs duty, VAT and supply-chain efficiency through lawful use of FTAs and preferential origin.
• Determine preferential and non-preferential origin and maintain supplier declarations.
• Coordinate CBAM applicability assessments and reporting with procurement and finance.
• Provide oversight of customs brokers, freight forwarders and logistics providers.
• Conduct export classification, jurisdiction and licensing reviews for products, software, technology and technical data.
• Develop policies, procedures, training, audits, monitoring and corrective actions.
• Investigate potential violations and manage voluntary disclosures where required.
• Support mergers, acquisitions, localisation projects and international collaborations from a trade compliance perspective.
• Maintain compliant records and monitor regulatory changes.

Job Requirements And Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Law, Engineering, Supply Chain or related discipline.
• Minimum 7 years' progressive experience in customs and export compliance.
• Strong knowledge of German and EU export control regulations.
• Strong knowledge of EU customs legislation, customs valuation, tariff classification and origin.
• Experience with BAFA and German Customs (Zoll).
• Experience managing import/export authorisations and customs audits.
• Working knowledge of ITAR, EAR and OFAC requirements affecting European businesses.
• Experience with ERP or Global Trade Management systems (e.g. SAP GTS or equivalent).
• Excellent communication skills in German and English.

Preferred Experience

• Experience within aerospace, defence, satellite or telecommunications industries.
• Professional customs or export compliance certification.
• Experience implementing AEO or customs special procedures.
• Experience supporting multinational supply chains and localisation programmes.
• Eligibility to obtain and maintain German, NATO or EU security clearance where programme requirements apply.

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

Please be aware that many roles will be subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors including new starter’s nationality, any previous or dual nationalities held, place of birth and country of residence may limit those roles that you can perform for the organization.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members not through our approved vendor list or Talent Acquisition will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.