Job Description

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.