International Trade Compliance Leader - APAC

ABOUT THE TEAM

We are seeking an experienced international trade compliance leader to help build a best-in-class trade compliance program supporting the EMEA/APAC region. The International Trade Compliance team is responsible for providing strategic, high-level trade compliance advice and guidance to internal business and engineering teams as well as owning day-to-day tactical execution. Anduril is a fast-growing defence products company at the early stages of growth. Consistent with this fast growth, members of Anduril’s ITC team must be resourceful, creative, and eager to take ownership of complex matters.

ABOUT THE JOB

We are looking for International Trade Compliance Leader to join our rapidly growing team in Sydney. In this role, you will be responsible for driving international trade controls and policies to protect and guide the development of commercial dual-use and defence technology across the APAC region, as an expert in applicable US and non-US export control laws and regulations. The role will be a key interface between engineering, program management, compliance, and senior leadership to ensure that product teams are in line with engineering goals and compliance frameworks. This person will be responsible for designing and managing controls plans for commercial dual-use and defence platforms across the region and ensuring compliance with U.S. and global export control regulations. You will provide strategic guidance and regulatory expertise, achieving positive outcomes supporting Anduril’s global growth objectives.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Design and implement trade compliance policies, protections, and infrastructure to ensure engineering/ program development meets schedule objectives, consistent with ITAR, EAR, and local country laws/regulations of EU, UK, or Australia.
• Coordinate with external partners (e.g., customers, suppliers, in-region government agencies, etc.) to ensure product roadmaps align with internal compliance posture and pivot accordingly
• Develop country-specific classification decision rationale, heuristics and methodology for Anduril programs to improve efficiency in classification while maintaining accuracy
• Leverage AI for rapid risk-mitigated determinations
• Support the release of technology and data to internal and external stakeholders
• Deploy and maintain country-specific J/C training curricula and robust methodologies to meet cost and performance metrics
• Apply for and manage country-specific export authorizations, when required
• Oversee country-specific export authorizations, ensuring compliance with license scope, provisos and associated conditions
• Support the logistics team on hardware exports and imports as appropriate
• Provide guidance and training to Anduril regional teams on ITAR, EAR and country-specific regulations as appropriate
• Perform compliance assessments, identifying and mitigating compliance risks, of export/import authorizations and related transactions and assist in any investigations of potential compliance issues
• Lead working groups, independent projects, and collaborative efforts with within the compliance function or cross-functionally driving ITC program enhancements
• Support and implement corrective actions that result from compliance issues
• Navigate co-production, co-development, and offset projects across multiple countries, ensuring compliance with US export regulations and country-specific trade laws
• Manage Defence export portal for license applications, tracking, and reporting (RR)
• Evaluate and review commodities, including hardware, software, and technical data, for export license eligibility under AUKUS and other international trade control frameworks
• Communicate and collaborate with regulators and outside counsel to address export compliance matters
• Stay updated on regulatory changes and export compliance requirements, providing timely insights and guidance to leadership
• Provide guidance on the use of collaborative environments for sharing technical information across borders

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to travel +25%
• Understanding of engineering concepts across software and hardware and development principles to be able to craft policies and procedures to segregate commercial and export controlled technology development
• Strong understanding of the U.S. and non-U.S. export regulations, including relevant classifications pertaining to aerospace parts, electronics, computers, IT equipment, encryption technology, and navigational hardware, etc.
• +10 years experience in product development, defence technology, startups, defence contracting or similar
• +5 years experience in trade compliance, international trade controls, international contracts management
• A superpower for smashing through regulatory roadblocks
• Ability to obtain and maintain a NV2 Security Clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with AUKUS partnership frameworks, including export compliance, license management, and cross-border collaboration requirements
• Experience with customs and import filings, including managing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), temporary imports, and processing ATA Carnets for duty-free and tax-free international transactions
• Experience in group 3-5 UAS, UUVs, or robotic systems product development or concepts
• Experience working with or supporting government contracts
• Experience in managing development infrastructure and training technical teams
• Experience designing and implementing technology control plans
• An understanding of the distinctives and intersection of Lean Product and Process Development, Agile Software Development, and Lean Production
• Knowledge of exportability considerations and experience incorporating export control compliance into product development plans
• Understanding of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) guidelines

Note that this is an onsite role based in of one of our offices in Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra.