At a freight forwarder or airline cargo operation, you handle the senior layer of air-export work — complex shipments, regulator coordination, major customer accounts, and the senior judgment that less-experienced specialists escalate.
A typical day mixes complex shipment work, regulatory engagement, and major-customer support — working through hazmat or dual-use export-control shipments, coordinating with customs and BIS on complex matters, supporting major-customer accounts on shipment strategy, mentoring junior specialists on tricky cases. Complex shipments cleared cleanly and customer satisfaction shape the visible measures.
What gets demanding is the regulatory depth required at senior levels — air export work touches EAR, ITAR, OFAC, IATA, and TSA-IAC rules, and the senior specialist carries deep knowledge of each. Variance across employers is wide: large global forwarders run with senior specialists in defined roles; smaller forwarders concentrate the senior work on a smaller team.
The role tends to fit folks who carry deep air-trade fluency, comfort with regulatory text, and the diplomatic touch that senior customer and carrier relationships require. Licensed Customs Broker, CES, CCS, FIATA diploma anchor advancement. The trade-off is the personal exposure that named-responsible-party export filings carry and the always-on character of air trade work.
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Roles like this one sit within a broader occupational category. The numbers below reflect that full landscape — helpful for context, but your specific experience will depend on level, specialty, and where you work.
Roles with similar work and overlapping career paths
View all Admin & Office roles →At a freight forwarder or airline cargo operation, you handle the senior layer of air-export work — complex shipments, regulator coordination, major customer accounts, and the senior judgment that less-experienced specialists escalate.
Median pay for a Senior Air Export Specialist is about $50K nationally, with the field ranging roughly from $37K to $76K depending on experience, employer, and metro (BLS).
Core skills for this role include Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, and Time Management.
Most people in this role hold a bachelor's degree.
Employment in this field is projected to grow about 8.5% through 2034, with roughly 97,800 people working in it today (BLS).
Closely related roles include Air Export Specialist, Freight Coordinator, and Cargo Agent.
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