Trade Compliance Manager

CHAOS Industries•Washington, DC

3d•$130,000 - $165,000•Onsite

About The Position

CHAOS Industries is seeking an experienced Trade Compliance Manager to support the full scope of its export compliance program as the company scales production and delivery of dual-use products to U.S. Government, allied, and commercial customers. This hands-on role prepares and administers export authorizations, reviews shipments and international activities, supports classification determinations, and maintains audit-ready records. The manager partners with Program, Engineering, Business Development, Contracts, and Security teams to translate export control requirements into practical guidance. The role requires making decisions with significant autonomy and helping build compliance processes.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree and at least 7 years of trade compliance experience emphasizing export controls, preferably in aerospace/defense, government contracting, or a related technology sector; or a master's degree and at least 5 years of experience.
Strong knowledge of 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 applicability of ITAR exemptions and EAR license exceptions.
Working knowledge of customs fundamentals, including HTS classification, valuation, and country of origin, sufficient to identify customs issues and coordinate with the 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.
Must be a U.S. person as defined in 22 C.F.R. §120.62 and 15 C.F.R. §772.1, or eligible to obtain any export authorization or license required for the role.

Nice To Haves

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 such as NetSuite, SAP GTS, OCR, or Descartes.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of Defense security clearance.

Responsibilities

Prepare, submit, and administer ITAR and BIS export authorizations 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; advise teams on compliance with 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 parts to their export classifications.
Manage restricted-party and sanctions screening, resolve escalations, and obtain and review end-user/end-use certifications and consignee statements.
Maintain export records, including license decrementing and exemption and exception logs, ensuring complete, audit-ready files for licenses, classifications, exemptions, and shipments.
Help develop and maintain export compliance procedures and training, and conduct periodic shipment and license audits with corrective action as needed.
Research, analyze, and interpret ITAR and EAR requirements; 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.
Review and approve foreign-national access to controlled technical data and facilities, and support technology control plans and visitor procedures with Security.