The Role
As the Head of Compliance at Hypersonica, you will own compliance as a strategic capability, build compliance architecture, advise leadership, design export control systems, and champion a culture of integrity in a high-stakes environment.
Summary Generated by Built In
Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability
At Hypersonica, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast.
As our Head of Compliance, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously.
We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence.
What you'll do
- Own compliance as a strategic capability, not an administrative function. Designing frameworks that protect sovereign hypersonic technology without slowing execution.
- Build and lead Hypersonica’s UK compliance architecture from first principles, covering export controls, data protection, sanctions, anti-bribery, personnel security, and classified programmes all fit for a fast scaling, test heavy deeptech company.
- Act as the single point of authority for UK defence compliance, advising founders, senior leadership, and programme leads on risk, trade offs, and paths to 'yes' in high stakes decisions.
- Design export control systems that scale with speed, owning SPIRE licensing, technical data controls, record keeping, and audit readiness across multi-country programmes and partners.
- Embed compliance directly into engineering and operations, working hands on with technical teams to classify hardware, software, and data flows accurately and pragmatically.
- Proactively identify and mitigate compliance risk, running threat-model-style assessments across export, data, sanctions, bribery, and insider risk, before problems surface.
- Be the internal adult in the room during ambiguity, translating evolving regulation, sanctions, and policy shifts into clear operational guidance.
- Lead all regulator and authority engagement, acting as Hypersonica’s trusted interface with ECJU, HMRC, MOD, and other UK authorities; credible, disciplined, and respected.
- Own personnel and site security governance, including BPSS and SC processes, visitor controls, and insider risk mitigation, aligned with classified and export controlled work.
- Design training that engineers actually respect, delivering concise, high-signal education on export control, GDPR, anti-bribery, and sanctions that sticks, not death by PowerPoint.
- Investigate issues decisively and objectively, leading internal reviews, root-cause analysis, and corrective action when things go wrong.
- Build audit ready systems by default, so inspections are non events and compliance evidence exists because it’s operationally useful.
- Continuously evolve Hypersonica’s governance as the company scales, anticipating future regulatory, partnership, and international expansion requirements..
- Champion a culture of integrity and accountability, where speed and compliance reinforce each other, and everyone understands why protecting sensitive capability matters.
Who you are
- A senior operations leader with 10+ years’ experience building and running manufacturing or test operations in aerospace, defence, or similarly regulated environments.
- Proven at taking operations from zero to first production, not just optimising mature factories.
- Deeply comfortable owning industrialisation, facilities, quality, compliance, and supply chain as a single integrated problem.
- Experienced operating in MoD-aligned, security-constrained environments, with practical exposure to List X, export control, and audit reality.
- Someone who thinks in critical paths, readiness gates, and irreversible decisions, not abstract strategy.
- Calm and decisive under pressure, with the judgement to lock decisions early and execute hard.
- Credible leading multi-disciplinary teams, setting a culture of ownership, discipline, and pace.
- Motivated by building a sovereign UK industrial capability where failure is visible and success matters at a national level.
What we offer
- A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.
- Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.
- High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.
- A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.
- A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.
- Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.
At Hypersonica, every hire raises the bar. We are deliberately small, intensely capable, and deeply mission-driven. If this role feels like a strong fit, or if you believe you bring something exceptional that goes beyond the description, we encourage you to apply.
Hypersonica is an equal-opportunity employer and assesses candidates solely on merit, capability, and potential.
You can apply directly to this role or reach out to Nathan Sweeney, Head of Talent. We review every application and aim to respond to all candidates within two weeks, whether the answer is yes or no.
Skills Required
- 10+ years experience in operations
- Experience in aerospace or defence
- Experience with compliance and supply chain
- Ability to operate in security-constrained environments
- Strong judgment and decisiveness
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The Company
What We Do
Hypersonica is a mission-driven European defense and aerospace company that develops next-generation hypersonic systems for military and civilian applications. Founded in 2023, the company aims to equip European allies with sovereign, cost-effective hypersonic strike capabilities. By utilizing a modular architecture and rapid iteration, they significantly reduce development costs and timelines, focusing on enhancing Europe's defense autonomy and technological independence in a complex global security environment.
