Head of Customs Brokerage

About the role

This is a player-coach role: you'll own the operational execution of customs clearance while building and mentoring a small, growing team across Laredo and Mexico City. You'll serve as the subject matter expert on compliance, classification, and documentation — and be the escalation point when the complexity exceeds what the team can handle independently. You'll report directly to the COO and work cross-functionally with our cross-border, carrier, and managed transportation teams.

What You'll Do

• Own day-to-day customs clearance operations for US imports and exports across the US-Mexico border
• Serve as the primary escalation point for complex entries, compliance issues, and time-sensitive shipments
• Ensure all clearance activity meets CBP, ACE, ABI, and USMCA requirements
• Maintain and enforce internal compliance standards, SOPs, and documentation protocols
• Oversee classification (HTS), valuation, and admissibility determinations

Team Leadership

• Lead and develop a team of 4 — 2 US-based (Laredo) and 2 in Mexico City — with a player-coach orientation
• Build operational capacity and create a path for the team to handle higher complexity over time
• Hire, onboard, and develop team members as the business scales

Customer Ownership

• Serve as the senior point of contact for customs-related customer communications
• Own 100% customer retention and identify expansion opportunities in partnership with sales and account management
• Build trusted relationships with key shipper contacts, particularly those with high-frequency or high-complexity border programs
• Travel to customer sites as needed for relationship management and onboarding

Process & Technology

• Partner with Nuvocargo's product and ops teams to improve customs workflows within NuvoOS, our native TMS
• Identify automation opportunities and help define how AI tooling can reduce manual work in the clearance process
• Maintain accurate records and ensure data integrity across entries and filings

Qualifications

• Active Licensed Customs Broker (CHB) — non-negotiable
• Bilingual in English and Spanish — professional fluency required
• 3–10 years of experience in customs brokerage, with meaningful US-Mexico cross-border exposure
• Hands-on experience with ACE, ABI, HTS classification, C-TPAT, FAST lanes, and related compliance frameworks
• Strong working knowledge of USMCA, DODA, PAPS/PARS, and Carta Porte
• Proven ability to manage customer relationships and escalations with a high degree of professionalism

Benefits

• Competitive base salary (range discussed during the interview process) plus performance-based bonus
• Opportunity to build and lead a function from a relatively early stage at a growing company
• Direct access to and partnership with company leadership
• A technology-forward environment — we invest in tools that reduce manual work and create leverage for our team
• Health, dental, and vision benefits
• Flexible PTO