Customs Manager

Drive Your Career

Lear Corporation is the leading Tier 1 automotive supplier serving all the world's major automotive manufacturers with our world-class automotive seating and automotive electrical products. Our products are developed and produced by a diverse, talented team of more than 165,000 people. With operations in 39 countries, Lear operates in every major automotive manufacturing region in the world. For our globally positioned and successful teams, we are looking for dedicated talents with zest for action and enthusiasm. If you love challenges, want to experience development opportunities unrestrained, and want recognition that pays off, then you've come to the right place with Lear.

Job Description

Job Title: Customs Manager

Job Location: Corporate Offices | Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.

Mission: Developing, implementing and maintaining an effective customs compliance program to ensure adherence to US Customs regulations while identifying opportunities for duty optimization and risk mitigation. This role partners closely with Customs Brokers, Operations, Finance, Procurement, Logistics and trade teams to support bussines objectives while maintaining compliance with applicable trade laws.

Customs Compliance Management

• Oversee compliance with U.S. Customs regulations and internal policies.
• Develop and maintain customs procedures, work instructions, and governance frameworks.
• Monitor regulatory changes and assess business impact.
• Coordinate Customs inquiries, audits, and regulatory requests.
• Conduct post‑entry reviews to identify improvement opportunities.

Broker Management

• Manage Customs Broker performance and compliance.
• KPIs.
• Ensure timely communication and resolution of operational issues.
• Monitor broker filings and compliance accuracy. 

Classification and Trade Programs 

• Oversee HTS classification processes.
• Ensure proper valuation and Country of Origin determination.
• Manage trade preference and special trade programs.
• Mitigation strategies.

Duty Optimization and Recovery 

• Identify opportunities for duty savings and recovery.
• Post‑entry correction initiatives.
• Track refunds and recovery efforts.
• Mitigation opportunities from regulatory changes.

Risk Management and Reporting 

• Perform risk assessments and implement corrective actions.
• Develop dashboards and compliance metrics.
• Updates and savings initiatives.
• Support internal and external audits.

Auto Credit Offsets 

• Credit Administration.
• Opportunity identification License and Offset execution.
• Post-Entry recovery.
• Reporting and Analytics.
• Cross-functional collaboration.

Data Management & Analytics

• Develop dashboards and executive scorecards.
• Ensure data integrity across ERP systems, Finance reports, Customs platforms, and Broker data.
• Import data analysis to identify compliance risks, trends, anomalies, recovery opportunities, inefficiencies.
• Automating reports.
• Data quality controls and reporting standards.
• Translate large databases into actionable business insights.

Staffing & Organizational Leadership

• Define organizational structure.
• Evaluate staffing requirements.
• Recruit and onboard new talent.
• Develop team capabilities.
• Coach and mentor employees.
• Support succession planning.
• Promote accountability and continuous improvement.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in international Trade, Business Administration, Finance, or a related field.

Experience Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in the automotive industry (preferred).
• Strong knowledge of U.S. Customs Compliance, Global Trade, Duty Management, and International Trade.
• Experience in U.S. Customs regulations, duty mitigation and recovery, and broker management.
• Advanced analytical and problem‑solving skills.
• Strong project management and organizational capabilities.
• Strategic and business‑oriented mindset, Collaborative leadership, Results oriented approach, Continuous improvement focus.

Languages

• Advanced English proficiency.