What you'll do:
- Act as the primary trade compliance point of contact for the UK and support regional compliance activities across Europe.
- Review, prepare, submit, and manage export authorizations through UK systems (e.g., SPIRE), including SIELs, OIELs, and OGELs, and support European licensing requirements where applicable.
- Classify products, software, and technical data under UK Strategic Export Control Lists
- Provide guidance on European export control considerations, including intra-EU transfers and applicable member state regulations.
- Partner with engineering teams to understand system functionality, data flows, and technical specifications to support accurate classifications and licensing strategies.
- Develop and maintain classification and licensing documentation, including rationale and audit-ready records.
- Provide clear, actionable guidance on export control requirements, restrictions, and compliance strategies across UK and European business activities.
- Implement and manage trade compliance procedures, including visitor controls, international travel guidance, and restricted party screening in accordance with UK, EU, and applicable international regulations.
- Review export authorizations to ensure alignment with UK government requirements (e.g., ECJU), relevant European authorities, and internal policies.
- Monitor regulatory developments in UK and European export controls, ensuring ongoing compliance and organizational awareness.
- Build and improve scalable internal processes and tools to streamline classification and licensing workflows across the region.
Required qualifications:
- 5+ years of experience in trade compliance, customs, or export control within aerospace, defense, or advanced technology industries.
- Experience with UK export control regulations and/or US export control frameworks (ITAR and EAR), including licensing and classification.
- Experience managing export authorizations and interacting with regulatory bodies such as the UK Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), EU member state authorities, and/or US State and Commerce Departments.
- Strong working knowledge of export classification methodologies, jurisdiction determinations, and licensing workflows.
- Understanding of European export control regimes and cross-border transfer considerations within Europe.
- Experience collaborating with engineering and program teams to translate technical information into compliant export classifications and documentation.
- Bachelor’s degree in Law, Business, International Trade, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.
- Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience liaising with UK Government departments.
- Experience supporting programs involving defense technologies, dual-use items, or autonomous systems.
- Exposure to compliance operations across multiple jurisdictions (EU, US, APJ).
- Relevant professional certifications (e.g., Certified Export Specialist, Certified Customs Specialist, or equivalent).
Skills Required
- 5+ years of experience in trade compliance, customs, or export control within aerospace, defense, or advanced technology industries.
- Experience with UK export control regulations and/or US export control frameworks (ITAR and EAR), including licensing and classification.
- Experience managing export authorizations and interacting with regulatory bodies such as the UK ECJU, EU member state authorities, and/or US State and Commerce Departments.
- Strong working knowledge of export classification methodologies, jurisdiction determinations, and licensing workflows.
- Understanding of European export control regimes and cross-border transfer considerations within Europe.
- Experience collaborating with engineering and program teams to translate technical information into compliant export classifications and documentation.
- Bachelor's degree in Law, Business, International Trade, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.
- Excellent analytical, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
- Experience liaising with UK Government departments.
- Experience supporting programs involving defense technologies, dual-use items, or autonomous systems.
- Exposure to compliance operations across multiple jurisdictions (EU, US, APJ).
- Relevant professional certifications (e.g., Certified Export Specialist, Certified Customs Specialist, or equivalent).
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
-
Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
-
Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
-
Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
Gallery
%203.jpg)
Shield AI Teams
.jpg)
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
