Global Trade Compliance Specialist
Legal · Full-time
Washington, USA · Austin, TX, USA · New York, NY, USA
USD 120k-175k / year + Equity
Posted on Nov 9, 2026
Global Trade Compliance Specialist
New York, NY • Washington, D.C. • Austin, TX
Legal
In office
Full-time
About Nominal
Engineers today are building some of the most ambitious machines humanity has ever seen. They should have AI that’s purpose-built for them.
Nominal is building the Hardware Intelligence Platform that gives engineers increased visibility into complex physical systems, helps them make better decisions, and ultimately gets their products into the real world faster. It brings together the systems, data, intelligence, and applications hardware engineering requires to meet the AI moment. Hardware engineering teams use Nominal to simulate, test, manufacture, and operate the physical systems that keep the world moving, from spacecraft and autonomous vehicles to next-generation energy systems and robotics.
Our customers span aerospace, defense, manufacturing, transportation, energy, and robotics. They include Anduril, Shield AI, Wisk Aero, Pratt Miller Motorsports, Antares, and Shinkei Systems, amongst others, alongside programs within the U.S. Air Force and Navy. Our team draws from SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Tesla, and other leading companies, united by a common mission: giving hardware engineers the tools to build the future with speed, safety, and confidence. We're a fast-moving team that owns problems end-to-end, works across disciplines, and thrives at the intersection of hardware and software.
Some of the world’s leading technology investors, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, and Insight Partners, are backing Nominal’s ambition to change how machines are built and operated. We’re looking for teammates who want to take on hard problems and help make a new generation of world-changing hardware possible.
🚀 About the role
Nominal's Legal & Security team keeps our platform, our people, and our customers' data on the right side of U.S. trade controls. Our software runs inside defense programs and handles export-controlled technical data across cloud, on-prem, and air-gapped environments, so trade compliance shapes how we build, sell, and deploy. As a Global Trade Compliance Specialist, you'll shape and lead our trade compliance program, deciding which risks to tackle first as we grow into new programs, partners, and markets.
This role is ideal for someone who has built or scaled a trade compliance program and wants to set its direction at a fast-growing defense technology company. You'll work with little oversight, own the approach across Legal, InfoSec, Engineering, Government, and Revenue, and make the calls when the regulations don't give a clean answer.
👨🏻💻 What You'll Do
- Shape the strategy and roadmap for Nominal's global trade compliance program, deciding which risks to address first as the business grows.
- Define how Nominal's software, technical data, and services are classified under the USML and Commerce Control List, and make the call on ambiguous cases.
- Lead complex licensing efforts, including Technical Assistance Agreements and international partnerships, from strategy through approval.
- Design scalable screening, due diligence, and access-control processes with InfoSec, Engineering, and Revenue so compliance keeps pace with deployments.
- Lead the response to export control and sanctions incidents, and turn lessons learned into lasting process and product fixes.
- Own Nominal's ITAR, EAR, and OFAC policies and training, and advise leadership on trade risk in deals, partnerships, and product decisions.
- Mentor teammates and build trade compliance know-how across the company.
🔍 We're looking for someone with
- 5+ years on a risk, compliance, or trade compliance team, including time building or scaling a trade compliance program.
- Deep expertise in ITAR and EAR, including licenses, agreements, and classification decisions where the answer isn't obvious.
- Strong understanding of how trade controls overlap with Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and information security requirements.
- Prior experience in a global dual-use commercial technology company, including prior exposure to EAR encryption controls, and the intersection of those controls with performance metrics and access to tools like Databricks, Snowflake, and Datadog.
- Eligibility to work with export-controlled materials.
- A track record of leading cross-functional compliance work across legal, engineering, and commercial teams.
- Sound judgment under ambiguity: you weigh competing options, make the call, and explain it clearly to leaders and non-specialists.
⚡ Skills that accelerate us
- Trade compliance experience at a defense contractor or an ITAR-focused software company.
- Hands-on use of DECCS, SNAP-R, ACE, or restricted-party screening software.
- Experience managing voluntary disclosures, compliance audits, or commodity jurisdiction requests.
- Familiarity with export controls for cloud, on-prem, or air-gapped software deployments and international partners.
✨ Benefits/Perks
- 🏥 100% coverage of medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 🏖️ Unlimited PTO and sick leave
- 🍽️ Free lunch, snacks, and coffee
- 🚀 Professional Development Stipend
- 🛠️ In-office hardware lab with a $250 project stipend
- ✈️ Annual company retreat
- 👶 12 weeks parental leave
- 🌱 Fertility and family planning ($15,000 lifetime)
- 💪 Wellness stipend ($100/month)
- 🛠️ $500/year hardware sensor stipend
- 💼 401(k)
- 📈 Employee-friendly equity terms
- 🏢 In-office 5 days per week
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
ITAR Requirements
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Compensation
The base pay range for this role is $120,000 – $175,000 per year.
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This position requires access to information and technology that is subject to U.S. export controls. Your responses to the questions below will be used solely to determine your eligibility under U.S. law to receive information and materials subject to U.S. export controls. Are you any of the following “protected individual(s)” as defined in the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)? *
U.S. Work Authorization - Are you authorized to work in the United States? *
Will you require sponsorship from Nominal for employment now or in the future? (e.g, OPT, H1B visa)? *
Clearance Eligibility - Do you presently hold an active U.S. security clearance, or are you eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance? *
If you have held a U.S. security clearance in the past, what clearance level have you held? *
Voluntary Self-Identification
To comply with government reporting requirements, we invite candidates to participate in the self-identification survey below. Your completion of this form is entirely optional, and your decision will neither influence the hiring process nor any subsequent stages. Any information you choose to share will be kept confidential and stored in a secure file. As outlined in our Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we uphold a commitment to non-discrimination based on any protected group status specified in applicable laws.
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VEVRAA requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans. To help us measure the effectiveness of our outreach and recruitment efforts of veterans, we are asking you to tell us if you are a veteran covered by VEVRAA. If you believe that you belong to any of the following categories of protected veterans, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.
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A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military and is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disabilityRecently separated veteran
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A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military ground, naval, or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 Fed. Reg. 1209).Veteran status
Req ID: R184