The companyour client is a fortune 500 global leader and one of the world’s largest producers of interconnect systems and advanced electronic components, serving critical industries including aerospace, automotive, industrial, and communications.in mexico, the organization operates a highly strategic shared services platform, supporting 25+ business units and manufacturing operations across the country. This center plays a pivotal role in enabling operational excellence, regulatory compliance, and cross-border efficiency within a complex, high-volume environment.as part of its continued growth and increasing operational sophistication, the company is seeking an experienced customs operations manager to lead and elevate its customs and trade compliance function across mexico and the u.s.the positionoverviewthis is a high-impact leadership role responsible for overseeing customs operations across a multi-plant, multi-division manufacturing network. The position requires a seasoned leader who can operate at both strategic and execution levels, ensuring full compliance while driving efficiency, standardization, and continuous improvement.you will lead a team of 30+ professionals and act as the central authority on trade compliance, partnering closely with operations, finance, supply chain, and executive leadership.key responsibilitiesown end-to-end customs compliance across all divisions and manufacturing sites in mexicolead, develop, and align a team of 30+ professionals, ensuring clarity of priorities, accountability, and performanceestablish and drive kpis and performance metrics to ensure operational excellence and compliance rigorensure all processes, procedures, and training programs remain fully aligned with evolving regulationscore functional leadershipensure full compliance with mexican and u.s. customs laws, immex, usmca, and other trade agreementslead trade compliance strategy, including duty optimization and utilization of programs such as prosec and rule 8thoversee annex 24 / annex 30 (civa), aeo / ctpat programs, and supply chain security initiativesmanage customs audits (mexico & u.s.), including preparation, response, and corrective actionsensure accuracy across hts classifications, valuation, country of origin, and documentationmaintain integrity of customs systems and data, including reconciliation and reporting processesinterface directly with mexican and u.s. authorities, managing permits, certifications, and compliance requirementsoversee itar compliance where applicableleadership & decision authoritydefine and implement department procedures and governanceassign roles and responsibilities across the customs organizationact as primary liaison with government agencies and external advisorsapprove customs transactions, certifications of origin, and duty paymentsdetermine when external legal counsel is requiredthe candidateexperience & educationbachelor’s degree in international trade, law, supply chain, or related field.10+ years of progressive experience in mexican and u.s. customs operations. Prior solid experience in a customs, import & export, or trade compliance leadership role such as: director of customs & trade compliance, senior import & export manager, customs & trade compliance manager or similar.deep expertise in immex, usmca, annex 24/30, hts classification, valuation, and origin rules.experience leading customs audits and regulatory interactions in both mexico and the u.s.prior in-house customs broker (apoderado aduanal) and/or u.s. Broker license is a strong plus.experience with ctpat, oea, civa, and trade compliance systems.familiarity with itar is a plus.systems exposure (darwin, bms, as400, macola) preferred.ms office including sound experience with excel.fully bilingual (english/spanish)leadership profile & competenciesstrong executive presence with the ability to influence across functions and levelsdeep expertise in customs and trade compliance, combined with strong business judgmentproven ability to lead in complex, multi-site environments. Prefer experience leading in large global organizations.highly disciplined with a focus on process rigor and execution excellencestrong financial acumen and understanding of duty impact on the businesscollaborative leader with the ability to work cross-functionally (finance, ehs, security, hr, operations)hands-on, proactive, and solutions-oriented mindsethigh integrity, strong organizational skills, and attention to detailcustomer-oriented with a results-driven and ownership mentalitywhy this rolethis is a unique opportunity to:lead customs operations at scale within a highly respected global organizationinfluence and optimize trade compliance across a complex, multi-plant footprintplay a critical role in supporting cross-border manufacturing and nearshoring strategiesbe part of a company known for operational excellence, innovation, and long-term growth