Import Manager

Expeditors•Brisbane, CA

1d•$70,304•Onsite

About The Position

The Import Manager develops and manages the branch import function across Ocean Import, Air Import, Customs Brokerage, and Order Management, providing leadership for operations, finances, sales partnership, people, systems, compliance, service execution, and continuous improvement.

Requirements

7+ years of freight forwarding, import operations, customs brokerage, order management, logistics, transportation, customer service, or supply chain experience.
Leadership experience managing teams, customer requirements, compliance expectations, and cross-functional execution.
Strong understanding of import operations, customs clearance, customer SOPs, service provider coordination, controls, and financial performance.
Strong communication, escalation management, customer relationship, problem-solving, organizational, and systems skills.
Strong understanding of software development principles.
Experience with automation platforms such as Power Automate.
Experience with Microsoft Copilot and M365 technologies.
Familiarity with data structures, APIs, integrations, and system architecture.
Basic understanding of AI, machine learning, LLMs, and prompt engineering.
Ability to troubleshoot technical issues independently.
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
Ability to understand complex operational processes.
Experience translating business requirements into technical solutions.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience as a Product Manager, Operations Manager, Customs Brokerage Manager, Ocean Import Manager, Air Import Manager, or Order Management Manager.
Licensed Customs Broker or strong customs brokerage compliance experience, where applicable.
Experience with customer implementations, RFQs, QBRs, analytics, scorecards, operational data, and cross-product team development.
Experience developing automations, applications, or digital solutions.
Experience leading cross-functional projects.
Experience working in operations, logistics, finance, or enterprise shared services environments.
Certifications in Microsoft Power Platform, Azure AI, Microsoft Copilot, or related technologies.

Responsibilities

Lead branch import strategy across Ocean Import, Air Import, Customs Brokerage, and Order Management.
Align product teams so customers experience one coordinated import organization.
Identify gaps and implement cross-functional solutions that improve quality, visibility, compliance, and customer experience.
Partner with Sales, CRDM, Account Management, T&I, and Product Managers on onboarding, RFQs, QBRs, lane reviews, service recovery, and business development.
Ensure customer SOPs, service levels, compliance needs, reporting expectations, and billing requirements are understood and executable.
Represent the integrated import capability to customers and internal stakeholders with professionalism and clarity.
Maintain a consistent operating rhythm across import products, including KPI review, exception management, escalation, and follow-up discipline.
Ensure smooth freight flow across documentation, processing, clearance, release, delivery, order visibility, billing readiness, and customer communication.
Lead root cause analysis and corrective actions for service failures, compliance gaps, missed milestones, escalations, and billing issues.
Maintain compliance discipline across customs clearance, import documentation, customer SOPs, regulatory requirements, internal controls, security requirements, and company policies.
Work with Trade Compliance, Customs Brokerage, Security, Finance, and product leaders to identify and manage operational risk.
Promote a culture where compliance, controls, and customer trust are part of daily execution.
Manage import financial performance, including revenue growth, profitability, margin, billing quality, cost control, and loss prevention.
Partner with Finance and Product Managers to support accurate invoicing, timely billing, and profitable execution.
Use financial reporting and operational insights to identify improvement opportunities and make informed decisions.
Recruit, train, coach, develop, and retain high-performing import employees and leaders.
Build leadership depth through supervisors, leads, senior agents, product experts, and future managers.
Create a culture of accountability, customer service, compliance, collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement.
Promote disciplined use of Expeditors systems, import applications, customs systems, Order Management tools, dashboards, and reporting resources.
Ensure operational data is timely, accurate, and useful for customers, teams, analytics, compliance, and financial management.
Use reporting to monitor performance, backlog, exceptions, dwell, clearance activity, shipment status, order activity, and productivity.

Benefits

Paid Vacation (first year prorated based off month of hire then eligible for 15 days)
Holidays (10)
Flexible Days (2)
Paid Sick Time (accrual rate of 1 hour of sick time per 30 hours paid)
401(k) Retirement Savings Plan with employer match
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
Medical, Prescription Drug, Dental & Vision Coverage
Health Savings Account (HSA)
Life and Disability Insurance
Paid Parental Leave (additional eligibility criteria)
Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DC FSA)
Commuter Benefit
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Learning & Development Program
Educational Assistance and Reimbursement