The Global Trade Compliance & Import/Export Specialist serves as the organization's subject matter expert for global international trade compliance, customs regulations, and global import/export operations. This position is responsible for ensuring that global cross-border transactions are conducted in compliance with all applicable import, export, customs, sanctions, and trade regulations while supporting efficient and cost-effective logistics operations.
The role partners closely with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Network Operations, and external logistics providers to establish compliant trade practices, mitigate regulatory risk, and support business growth through effective international trade management.
What You Will Do:
- Serve as the company's subject matter expert for import/export compliance, customs regulations, export controls, and international trade requirements.
- Lead and maintain the organization's global trade compliance program, ensuring adherence to applicable import, export, sanctions, and customs regulations.
- Interpret complex regulatory requirements and provide guidance to business leaders regarding trade compliance risks, obligations, and business impacts.
- Determine and maintain tariff classifications, country-of-origin determinations, customs valuation methodologies, and related trade compliance documentation.
- Review, approve, and oversee import and export documentation including commercial invoices, certificates of origin, customs declarations, AES filings, and other required regulatory submissions.
- Monitor changes in global trade regulations, tariff schedules, sanctions programs, free trade agreements, and customs requirements; assess impacts and implement necessary process or policy changes.
- Develop, implement, and maintain trade compliance policies, procedures, controls, and record-retention practices to support regulatory compliance and audit readiness.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate trade compliance risks associated with customers, suppliers, products, countries, transportation routes, and international business transactions.
- Lead investigations and corrective actions related to customs issues, shipment holds, regulatory inquiries, restricted-party concerns, and potential compliance violations.
- Partner with Supply Chain, Operations, Procurement, Finance, Legal, Customer Service, and Logistics teams to ensure compliant and efficient international movement of goods.
- Coordinate activities with customs brokers, freight forwarders, carriers, government agencies, and other external partners to facilitate customs clearance and resolve trade-related issues.
- Support business expansion initiatives by evaluating the import/export compliance implications of new products, suppliers, manufacturing locations, customers, and international markets.
- Analyze trade activity, transportation costs, duties, tariffs, and customs performance metrics to identify opportunities for risk reduction, process improvement, and cost optimization.
- Lead or support internal and external compliance audits and serve as the primary point of contact for trade compliance reviews, assessments, and regulatory examinations.
- Develop and deliver trade compliance training and awareness programs to ensure employees understand applicable regulations, company policies, and compliance responsibilities.
- Provide technical leadership and mentorship regarding trade compliance practices, customs processes, and import/export requirements across the organization.
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives that enhance trade compliance effectiveness, operational efficiency, data integrity, and customer service performance.
What You Bring:
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, International Business, Business Administration, Logistics, Finance, Law, or a related field.
- Minimum of 8 years of experience in international trade compliance, import/export operations, customs compliance, logistics, or related disciplines.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex international trade and customs matters.
- Experience working with freight forwarders, customs brokers, and regulatory agencies in the US and EU
- Advanced knowledge of international trade compliance, customs regulations, tariff classification, and global import/export operations.
- Ability to interpret complex regulatory requirements, assess compliance risk, and implement effective controls and business solutions.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, project management, and continuous improvement skills.
- Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and effectively communicate technical regulatory concepts to diverse audiences.
- Demonstrated ability to manage highly complex work independently while exercising sound business judgment.
- Proficiency with trade compliance systems, ERP applications, and Microsoft Office tools.
Education and Experience:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
What Makes You Stand Out:
- Master's degree in Business, Supply Chain, International Business, or related field.
- Professional certification in customs, trade compliance, logistics, or supply chain management.
- Experience supporting multi-country manufacturing or global operations environments.
- Experience implementing trade compliance technology, automation, or process improvement initiatives.
- Experience supporting customs audits and regulatory reviews.
What's In It For You:
- We offer a competitive salary and total rewards package
- We offer amazing benefits including but not limited to:
- Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
- Dental and Vision
- Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
- Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
- Paid caregiver leave
- You will receive at least 3 weeks of PTO + Wellness + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
- 401k with company match and immediate vest
- Employee Stock Purchase Program at a discounted rate
- Matching grants through Protolabs foundation
- And More!
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, International Business, Business Administration, Logistics, Finance, Law, or a related field.
- Minimum of 8 years of experience in international trade compliance, import/export operations, customs compliance, logistics, or related disciplines.
- Demonstrated experience managing complex international trade and customs matters.
- Experience working with freight forwarders, customs brokers, and regulatory agencies in the United States and European Union.
- Advanced knowledge of international trade compliance, customs regulations, tariff classification, and global import/export operations.
- Ability to interpret complex regulatory requirements, assess compliance risk, and implement effective controls and business solutions.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, project management, and continuous improvement skills.
- Ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and communicate technical regulatory concepts to diverse audiences.
- Ability to manage highly complex work independently while exercising sound business judgment.
- Proficiency with trade compliance systems, ERP applications, and Microsoft Office tools.
- Master's degree in Business, Supply Chain, International Business, or a related field.
- Professional certification in customs, trade compliance, logistics, or supply chain management.
- Experience supporting multi-country manufacturing or global operations environments.
- Experience implementing trade compliance technology, automation, or process improvement initiatives.
- Experience supporting customs audits and regulatory reviews.
Protolabs Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Protolabs and has not been reviewed or approved by Protolabs.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision options are broadly available and described as good to excellent. Additional protections like short- and long-term disability and life insurance bolster the overall package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — A starting PTO allotment plus paid holidays, along with added wellness and volunteer time, is emphasized, with some roles noting PTO growth over tenure. Paid caregiver leave appears in postings and supports flexibility for life events.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with company match and immediate vesting is offered, supporting long-term savings. This foundation is frequently cited alongside core financial benefits as a strong element of total rewards.
Protolabs Insights
What We Do
Protolabs is the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding processes. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life cycle. 3D Printing Our 3D printing service offers a wide selection of materials and technologies to create prototypes and end-use parts with complex geometries and detailed features. With tight process controls, careful design reviews, and extensive quality monitoring, we ensure precise and repeatable 3D-printed parts, every time. CNC Machining We use 3- and 5-axis milling along with turning to machine parts from commercial-grade plastics and metals. Our online quoting system and automated manufacturing process enable us to ship parts within 24 hours, helping customers accelerate development and reduce time to market. Sheet Metal Fabrication Protolabs is an industry leader in quick-turn sheet metal parts for both prototyping and low-volume production. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables us to fabricate sheet metal parts in as fast as 5 days. Additionally, we can support our customers’ development efforts with component assemblies, several finish options, and screen printing. Injection Molding Our injection molding service offers two options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—which provide customers a tooling solution that aligns with their project’s requirements. It’s used for quick-turn prototyping, bridge tooling, and low-volume production of up to 10,000+ parts in 15 days or less.
