General Counsel (Los Angeles)

Heaviside Industries builds multi-domain autonomous precision munitions for U.S. and allied special operations and conventional forces. While modern warfare has rapidly evolved with the proliferation of unmanned systems, hyper-precise munitions in contested environments are the future of the battlefield. Economical precision strike capabilities are critical to U.S. and allied war efforts, enabling successful defeat of enemy military assets and infrastructure. Heaviside builds precision munitions designed to operate in GPS-denied and spectrum-jammed battlefields-where traditional systems degrade or fail-without inflated prices or sacrifice to performance.

All engineering and manufacturing is conducted in-house in Heaviside's Los Angeles, CA headquarters and Oslo, Norway office.

Heaviside is backed by Interlagos, Menlo Ventures, Flume Ventures, Cantos, Anorak Ventures, and Ravelin Ventures.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

• Stand up and own the company's export control and trade compliance program, ensuring full ITAR and EAR compliance across engineering, manufacturing, and program operations
• Serve as the company's Empowered Official: manage DDTC and BIS registration, export licensing, Technical Assistance and Manufacturing License Agreements (TAAs/MLAs), commodity jurisdiction and classification (USML/CCL) determinations, and recordkeeping
• Manage cross-border technology transfer, deemed-export controls, and foreign-national and visitor access procedures
• Build the broader compliance program: government-contracting compliance, anti-corruption (FCPA), ethics, and security (NISPOM/CMMC partnership)
• Serve as the lead in-house counsel across corporate, commercial, employment, and IP matters, directing outside counsel on specialized and surge work
• Draft and negotiate commercial, vendor, teaming, and customer agreements, with export-control terms built in
• Advise executive leadership and the board on regulatory risk, corporate governance, equity, and financing
• Build and lead the legal and compliance function over time, hiring and developing specialists as the organization grows

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Licensed attorney: J.D. and active membership in good standing of a U.S. state bar (California preferred)
• Hands-on, demonstrable export control experience - direct ownership of an ITAR/EAR program (licensing, agreements, classifications), not advisory-only
• Qualified and willing to serve as the Empowered Official: a U.S. Person with the standing and authority to halt a non-compliant export
• 10+ years across legal and compliance, with significant experience in the defense industry or supporting government and DoD programs
• Working knowledge of government contracting (FAR/DFARS) and defense-industry compliance obligations
• Experience building or scaling a legal and compliance function, ideally in a startup or high-growth environment, with comfort operating as a generalist supported by outside firms
• Strong commercial drafting and negotiation skills across a broad range of agreements
• Sound, practical judgment - able to translate export and regulatory complexity into clear, business-enabling guidance
• [BONUS] Cross-border technology transfer experience and familiarity with foreign-national access controls
• [BONUS] CMMC/cybersecurity compliance, FCPA programs, or M&A experience
• [BONUS] Active or prior U.S. security clearance

Additional Information:

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options, access to medical, vision & dental coverage, and access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Heaviside is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Heaviside is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, physical disability or any other legally protected status.