The posting
At Maybell Quantum, we're redefining the future of computing. As a venture-backed quantum hardware innovator experiencing rapid growth, we build the cryogenic infrastructure that quantum computers run on — dilution refrigerators, cryogenic RF wiring, and the related systems used by quantum computing companies, national labs, and research institutions worldwide. Quantum computers will be as transformative to the next 30 years as the internet was to the last 30—and our team is creating the hardware foundation to make this revolution possible.
Position Overview
We're seeking a Trade Compliance Manager/Senior Manager to own trade compliance for Maybell globally. This is the first dedicated compliance hire at the company; the function currently runs through the President with outside counsel support. You will build it.
Compliance at Maybell is not a back-office function. Our products sit squarely inside the emerging export control regime for quantum technology, and getting it right determines what we can ship, to whom, and how our engineering teams across four countries are able to work together. We operate from Denver, with facilities in Münster, Germany and Helsinki, Finland, are establishing operations in Singapore, and ship to customers across North America, Europe, and Asia.
The work is substantive from day one. We have active shipments requiring licensing, a distributor relationship in Korea with end-user obligations, engineering collaboration across US, German, Finnish, and Singapore teams that raises deemed export questions, and a product line whose classification sits in a part of the Commerce Control List that is still developing.
This is not a documentation or logistics coordination role. You are the decision-maker on classification and licensing, and you will be expected to defend those decisions. The role does not report into Operations, Engineering, or Sales, by design, and the compliance answer is not negotiated after the commercial commitment is made — you will be in the room early. You'll partner closely with Operations, Engineering, Sales, Supply Chain, IT, and HR, and report to the President.
Key Responsibilities
Classification and Licensing
- Classify Maybell products, components, software, and technical data under the EAR, including the quantum-specific ECCNs (3A90x, 4A9xx series) and related controls
- Determine license requirements per transaction; prepare, file, and manage BIS license applications and license exception determinations
- Obtain and actively manage the export licenses required to establish Maybell's Singapore operations, and keep them in good standing as those operations run
- Manage equivalent processes with BAFA in Germany, Singapore Customs, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and other national regimes as our footprint requires
- Maintain classification records and jurisdictional determinations to an auditable standard
Deemed Exports and Technical Data
- Own the deemed export program: assess nationality-based access requirements for controlled technical data across our Denver, Münster, Helsinki, and Singapore engineering teams
- Partner with IT and engineering leadership to define access controls on CAD, PLM, and technical documentation systems — you decide who may have access; IT implements it
- Support hiring and onboarding decisions where foreign national access to controlled technology is implicated
- Maintain a current log of employee nationality and immigration status as required under the EAR and applicable local regulations
Transaction Screening and Diligence
- Run restricted and denied party screening across customers, distributors, suppliers, and visitors
- Conduct end-use and end-user diligence, including red flag escalation
- Identify and apply for any licenses a specific deal requires, and track them through approval before commitments are made
- Support commercial negotiations on export-related contract terms — license conditions, end-user certifications, re-export obligations, and distributor undertakings
Supply Chain and Partner Compliance
- Work closely with the Supply Chain team to ensure Maybell's suppliers and partners, such as regional distributors, comply with the EAR, including export compliance diligence at onboarding and appropriate contractual commitments
- Review supply chain strategy for export control implications, including sourcing locations, supplier jurisdictions, and where controlled technical data must be shared
- Confirm that outsourced parts, and the technical data provided to suppliers to build them, are properly classified and authorized before release
- Monitor emerging supply chain risks such as new controls, entity listings, and sanctions changes affecting suppliers and partners, and drive mitigation such as alternate sourcing or additional licensing as necessary
Travel and Ongoing Monitoring
- Develop and maintain the staff travel policy to ensure business travel, including devices and technical data carried abroad, complies with export control requirements
- Actively monitor employee travel declarations, IT reports, and other ongoing compliance activities to ensure Maybell remains compliant with applicable export control regimes
Program and Governance
- Build and maintain Maybell's Export Compliance Program: written procedures, training, recordkeeping, internal audit, and escalation paths
- Deliver role-specific training to departments
- Manage outside trade counsel and consultants; scope their work and own the internal decisions
- Prepare compliance materials for investor and customer diligence
Authority and Escalation
- Exercise explicit authority to hold a shipment, transfer, or technical data disclosure pending compliance resolution — that authority is not advisory and does not require sign-off from Operations or Sales
- Escalate unresolved conflicts between a compliance determination and a commercial or operational commitment to the CEO, not through the functions with delivery or revenue accountability
Qualifications
- 5+ years in export controls or trade compliance for Manager, or 8+ years with multi-jurisdictional program ownership for Senior Manager, in each case with direct hands-on responsibility for classification and licensing under the EAR
- Demonstrated experience filing and managing BIS licenses, not just supporting someone who does
- Working knowledge of deemed export requirements and how to operate a program in a multinational engineering organization
- Experience in hardware manufacturing with genuinely controlled products — aerospace, defense, semiconductor capital equipment, scientific instrumentation, or similar
- Judgment and spine; this role exists to say no when no is the right answer, sometimes to founders, sometimes at quarter end
- Exposure to EU dual-use regulation and at least one national European regime (German BAFA, Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Dutch national controls) preferred
- Experience building a compliance program rather than inheriting one preferred
- Familiarity with emerging technology controls — quantum, advanced computing, semiconductors — preferred
- Experience supporting distributor and reseller channels with end-user obligations preferred
- A law degree is not required — this is not a legal role
What We Offer
- Competitive Compensation: Base salary range $130,000–$180,000, plus meaningful equity participation and annual bonus eligibility. Final title (Manager or Senior Manager) and base salary will be determined based on depth of licensing experience and multi-jurisdictional exposure.
- Real Authority: You hold and exercise the authority to stop a shipment, transfer, or disclosure pending compliance resolution, and escalation runs to the CEO.
- Growth Trajectory: A direct path to building and leading Maybell's global trade compliance function from the ground up.
- Impact: Direct responsibility for how one of the most consequential technologies of our era moves across borders.
- Exceptional Team: Collaboration with world-class scientists, engineers, and operators.
- Comprehensive Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k), and paid time off.
At Maybell Quantum, we're solving incredibly challenging problems at the cutting edge of physics and engineering. If you're excited about owning the decisions that determine where one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetime can go, we want to hear from you.
Maybell is an equal opportunity employer. Because this role involves access to export-controlled technology, we may be required to verify your status as a U.S. person or to obtain export authorization; we assess this consistently with applicable law and do not discriminate on the basis of citizenship or national origin beyond what U.S. export regulations require.
