14 Head of Compliance

Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability

At Hypersonica, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast.

As our Head of Compliance, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously.

We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence.

What you'll do

• Own compliance as a strategic capability, not an administrative function. Designing frameworks that protect sovereign hypersonic technology without slowing execution.

• Build and lead Hypersonica’s UK compliance architecture from first principles, covering export controls, data protection, sanctions, anti-bribery, personnel security, and classified programmes all fit for a fast scaling, test heavy deeptech company.

• Act as the single point of authority for UK defence compliance, advising founders, senior leadership, and programme leads on risk, trade offs, and paths to 'yes' in high stakes decisions.

• Design export control systems that scale with speed, owning SPIRE licensing, technical data controls, record keeping, and audit readiness across multi-country programmes and partners.

• Embed compliance directly into engineering and operations, working hands on with technical teams to classify hardware, software, and data flows accurately and pragmatically.

• Proactively identify and mitigate compliance risk, running threat-model-style assessments across export, data, sanctions, bribery, and insider risk, before problems surface.

• Be the internal adult in the room during ambiguity, translating evolving regulation, sanctions, and policy shifts into clear operational guidance.

• Lead all regulator and authority engagement, acting as Hypersonica’s trusted interface with ECJU, HMRC, MOD, and other UK authorities; credible, disciplined, and respected.

• Own personnel and site security governance, including BPSS and SC processes, visitor controls, and insider risk mitigation, aligned with classified and export controlled work.

• Design training that engineers actually respect, delivering concise, high-signal education on export control, GDPR, anti-bribery, and sanctions that sticks, not death by PowerPoint.

• Investigate issues decisively and objectively, leading internal reviews, root-cause analysis, and corrective action when things go wrong.

• Build audit ready systems by default, so inspections are non events and compliance evidence exists because it’s operationally useful.

• Continuously evolve Hypersonica’s governance as the company scales, anticipating future regulatory, partnership, and international expansion requirements..

• Champion a culture of integrity and accountability, where speed and compliance reinforce each other, and everyone understands why protecting sensitive capability matters.

Who you are

• A senior operations leader with 10+ years’ experience building and running manufacturing or test operations in aerospace, defence, or similarly regulated environments.

• Proven at taking operations from zero to first production, not just optimising mature factories.

• Deeply comfortable owning industrialisation, facilities, quality, compliance, and supply chain as a single integrated problem.

• Experienced operating in MoD-aligned, security-constrained environments, with practical exposure to List X, export control, and audit reality.

• Someone who thinks in critical paths, readiness gates, and irreversible decisions, not abstract strategy.

• Calm and decisive under pressure, with the judgement to lock decisions early and execute hard.

• Credible leading multi-disciplinary teams, setting a culture of ownership, discipline, and pace.

• Motivated by building a sovereign UK industrial capability where failure is visible and success matters at a national level.

What we offer

• A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.

• Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.

• High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.

• A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.

• A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.

• Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.