Export Control Lead — Space & Defense

Firefly Aerospace; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Parental leave

Relocation support

Educational reimbursement

Short-term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Trade Compliance Manager to drive export authorizations, classifications, and compliance processes for global operations. You will partner with engineering, legal, security and supply chain to enable rapid innovation while ensuring EAR/ITAR compliance and sanctions adherence.

The role focuses on export controls with opportunities to work on international customs matters. A self-driven professional with 5+ years in export compliance in aerospace is preferred.

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in export compliance within aerospace, defense, satellite, or related regulated industry with focus on operational execution.
• Deep knowledge and proven track record with ITAR and EAR regulations including hands-on experience with USML/CCL classifications and export licensing.
• Demonstrated experience managing Technical Assistance Agreements (TAAs) or similar export authorizations—including drafting agreements, amendments, and ensuring ongoing compliance with provisos.
• Experience with foreign national compliance including deemed export determinations, Technology Control Plans, or foreign visitor reviews.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with ability to influence cross-functional teams.
• Excellent written communication skills for regulatory submissions, compliance documentation, and internal and external correspondence.
• Proven track record of handling ambiguous challenges through strong problem-solving abilities.
• Experience in ownership of projects, communicating timelines, and executing independently across multiple workstreams.
• MS Office (including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Ability to travel as required (5-10% domestic).
• Desired: experience in commercial space industry or working with space-related export control issues.
• Desired: active security clearance (SECRET/TOP SECRET) or ability to obtain.
• Desired: experience supporting international operations including launch site compliance and multi-country regulatory frameworks.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems and compliance automation tools.

Responsibilities

• Drive the development and implementation of Firefly’s export compliance program, encompassing U.S. (EAR/ITAR/Sanctions/Customs) and global trade regulations across multiple countries and jurisdictions.
• Participate in export compliance due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships, including sanctions screening, ITAR registration reviews, and integration planning to ensure trade compliance risks are identified and mitigated.
• Conduct foreign national reviews and make export license determinations, including deemed export assessments, to support hiring, contractor engagement, and collaboration with international suppliers and customers.
• Provide expert guidance on EAR, ITAR and sanctions requirements.
• Partner with engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, legal, tax, HR, and IT teams to develop scalable compliance solutions that support rapid innovation.
• Participate in continuous process improvement initiatives to simplify and strengthen the export compliance program while balancing business objectives with regulatory requirements.
• Take ownership of ambiguous, cross-functional challenges where the path forward is unclear - define the problem, develop the approach, and drive to resolution with minimal direction.

Skills

Regulatory experience

Stakeholder management

Regulatory submissions

Problem-solving

Project ownership

MS Office

Travel readiness

Tools

DECCS

SNAP-R

Visual Compliance

ACE

Job description

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Trade Compliance Manager to drive export authorizations, classifications, and compliance processes for global operations. You will partner with engineering, legal, security and supply chain to enable rapid innovation while ensuring EAR/ITAR compliance and sanctions adherence.

The role focuses on export controls with opportunities to work on international customs matters. A self-driven professional with 5+ years in export compliance in aerospace is preferred.