Director of Compliance

ICON; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

ICON seeks its first Head of Compliance to build and run a comprehensive compliance program. You will own corporate compliance and government contract obligations, reporting to the General Counsel and guiding the executive team.

You will recruit and lead a team, design policy, training, monitoring, and audit readiness, covering ethics, privacy, export controls, and supply chain while coordinating with the IT function on cybersecurity standards and evidence readiness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree with 10+ years in compliance, ethics, or government practice or an advanced degree with 8+ years of related experience.
• Proven people-management experience leading a compliance function.
• Experience designing, implementing, or running a corporate compliance program.
• Experience presenting to executives, audit committees, or boards.
• Ability to travel ~15–25% for sites and events.
• Track record preparing for or responding to U.S. government audits or investigations.
• Experience applying FAR/DFARS in contractor environments with subcontract flow-downs.
• Experience in hardware/manufacturing/aerospace/government contractors.
• Experience in venture-backed or high-growth settings.
• Experience supporting MILCON, NASA, or IC programs.
• Experience administering export controls (ITAR) and sanctions.
• Experience building a compliance program from ground up.
• J.D. with bar membership or MBAs/CCEP-C etc., or exporting credentials; active or prior U.S. government security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead Icon's first compliance function from scratch and run it.
• Own corporate compliance and FAR/DFARS obligations across government work.
• Design and run risk assessments, policy framework, training, monitoring, and investigations.
• Cover ethics, conflicts of interest, export controls, trade, supply chain, and data privacy.
• Run internal investigations from intake to remediation.
• Ensure FAR/DFARS obligations across government contracts and subcontract flow-downs.
• Maintain documentation and evidence for government reviews.
• Lead audit readiness for DCAA/DCMA/CCP reviews and similar inquiries.
• Advise IT on CMMC/NIST 800-171 obligations and evidence readiness.
• Hire, develop, and lead the compliance team; manage budget and vendor relationships.
• Set operating cadence and report program health to exec team and Board.

Skills

People management

Compliance program design

Executive presentation

Govt audit experience

FAR/DFARS experience

Gov contracts domain

High-growth experience

MILCON/NASA/IC programs

Export controls ITAR

Build from scratch

GRC platforms

Contract lifecycle management systems

Restricted party screening tools

Training and attestation systems

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree (JD/LLM/MBA/MS)

Juris Doctor / active bar membership or certifications

Tools

GRC platforms

Contract lifecycle management systems

Restricted party screening tools

Training and attestation systems

Job description

Responsibilities

• This is Icon's first Head of Compliance. You will build the compliance function from scratch and then run it. You own two areas: Icon's corporate compliance program, and Icon's compliance with the FAR, DFARS, and agency supplements across all government work. Icon's Government Contracts team owns contract review, negotiation, and administration; you own whether Icon meets the obligations those contracts create
• You will report to the General Counsel, hire and lead the compliance team, and report on compliance to the exec team
• Design and run Icon's corporate compliance program: risk assessment, policy framework, training, monitoring and testing, investigations, corrective action, regulatory change management, metrics, and reporting
• Cover ethics and business conduct, conflicts of interest, anti-corruption, trade and export, supply chain, and data privacy, and add coverage as Icon's business and regulatory exposure grow
• Run internal investigations and own the process from intake through resolution and remediation
• Ensure Icon meets its FAR, DFARS, and agency supplement obligations across the government portfolio, including subcontract flow-downs, representations and certifications, and responses to Contracting Officer inquiries
• Build and maintain the documentation and evidence that demonstrate compliance to the government
• Lead audit readiness and response for DCAA, DCMA, Contractor Purchasing System Reviews, Inspector General inquiries, and similar reviews
• Serve as the compliance partner to the Head of IT on CMMC and NIST SP 800-171: how those obligations attach through Icon's contracts, what Icon represents to the government, and whether the supporting evidence holds up to outside review
• Hire, develop, and lead the compliance team. Own the function’s budget, tooling, and outside counsel and vendor relationships
• Set the operating cadence (reviews, testing cycles, reporting) so the program runs without you in every meeting
• Report program health, open risk, and remediation status to the executive team and, as needed, to the Board, in a form they can act on

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and 10+ years of experience in compliance, ethics, government contracts, internal audit, or regulatory legal practice, or an advanced degree (JD, LLM, MBA, or MS) and 8+ years of that experience
• People-management experience
• Experience designing, implementing, or running a corporate compliance program, or a major component of one
• Experience presenting compliance matters to an executive team, an audit committee, or a board of directors
• Ability to travel approximately 15 to 25%, including project sites, government installations, supplier facilities, and industry events
• Experience preparing for or responding to a U.S. Government audit, review, or investigation (DCAA, DCMA, CPSR, Office of Inspector General, or GAO)
• Experience applying the FAR and DFARS in a contractor environment, including subcontract flow-downs, representations and certifications, and responses to Contracting Officer inquiries
• Experience at a hardware, manufacturing, aerospace, space, or construction company that performs government contracts
• Experience at a venture-backed or high-growth company
• Experience supporting MILCON, NASA, or intelligence community programs
• Experience administering U.S. export controls and sanctions, including ITAR, restricted party screening, and foreign national access controls
• Experience standing up a compliance program from the ground up and then running it
• Juris Doctor with active bar membership in good standing, or an MBACCEP, CCEP-I, CFE, CIA, NCMA CFCM or CPCM, or an export compliance credential such as ECoP or CUSECOAn active or previously held U.S. Government security clearanceWorking familiarity with GRC platforms, contract lifecycle management systems, restricted party screening tools, and training and attestation systems