Chief Compliance Officer - Maryland (Relocation Assistance available for qualified candidates) We are looking for a Compliance Officer to lead and strengthen regulatory and ethical compliance activities for a highly regulated aerospace and defense manufacturing environment in Maryland. This position will guide enterprise-wide compliance efforts across government contracting, export controls, and operational risk while serving as a trusted advisor to leadership and cross-functional teams. The ideal candidate brings sound judgment, deep knowledge of defense and trade regulations, and the ability to build practical programs that support responsible business operations.
Key Responsibilities
- Regulatory Oversight: Ensure adherence to US government contracting laws, ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), EAR (Export Administration Regulations), FAA regulations, and DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) compliance.
- Compliance Program Strategy: Design, implement, and scale a comprehensive enterprise compliance management system tailored to aerospace manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain security.
- Risk Management: Partner with Programs, Quality, and Engineering to identify and mitigate operational, export, and product safety risks.
- Investigations & Remediation: Lead internal investigations into compliance breaches, oversee root-cause analysis, and enforce corrective action plans.
- Export and Trade Compliance: Serve as the primary advisor to executive leadership and the business on regulatory exposures, ethics metrics, and program effectiveness.
- License Management – support the management of end-to-end lifecycle of export authorizations, including preparing, submitting, and tracking ITAR and EAR license applications, agreements, and exemptions.
- Classification – support the determination of the jurisdictional status and export classifications (USML or ECCN) for aerospace parts, technologies, and technical data.
- Party Screening – support the screening of international customers, vendors, and visitors against restricted, debarred, and denied party lists using trade compliance software.
- Advisory & Training - provide daily guidance to engineering, sales, and shipping departments regarding technology transfers, foreign national access, and international shipments.
- Auditing & Recordkeeping – support internal compliance assessments, maintain accurate export documentation, and help implement corrective action plans.
Required Qualifications & Skills
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g. Business, Engineering, Supply Chain, International Relations, or a related field).
- Experience: Minimum 5 to 12 years of progressive leadership experience in legal, compliance, risk management, or regulatory audit within the aerospace, defense, or heavily regulated manufacturing sector.
- Domain Expertise: Deep knowledge of federal acquisition regulations (FAR/DFARS), export controls (ITAR/EAR), and FAA airworthiness or quality compliance standards. Familiarity with OFAC sanctions and Census FTR a plus.
- Leadership: Proven ability to operate with complete independence from commercial pressures, maintaining the authority to escalate or veto non-compliant operations.
- Technical Skills: Experience with automated export systems (AES), SAP/GTS, or trade compliance databases (like OCR EASE).
- U.S. Citizenship: Must be a U.S. person or authorized to obtain a standard U.S. government export license/security clearance as required by defense manufacturing standards.
In addition to competitive salary, we offer 20% bonus opportunity, medical vision & dental coverage, retirement savings, generous PTO, and other perks to help you meet your personal and professional goals.
Qualified candidates should directly apply and connect with Amy Hyman Baum on LinkedIn. Direct messages can be sent via LI messenger or to the email found on Amy' LinkedIn page. Be sure to include an updated resume.
