At an ocean freight forwarder, you handle the senior layer of ocean-export-specialist work — complex shipments, major customer accounts, regulatory matters, and the senior judgment work behind ocean export operations.
The day tends to mix complex ocean-export shipments, regulator engagement, and major-customer support — working through hazmat or restricted-commodity shipments, supporting major customers on shipment strategy, coordinating with customs and ocean carriers on complex matters, mentoring junior specialists. Complex shipments cleared cleanly and customer satisfaction shape the visible measures.
What gets demanding is the regulatory and operational depth at the senior level — senior ocean-export specialists carry depth across IMO hazmat, FMC compliance, export controls, and trade-program rules. Variance across employers is wide: large global forwarders run with senior specialists in defined roles; smaller ocean specialists concentrate the senior work on a smaller team.
The role tends to fit folks who carry deep ocean-trade fluency, comfort with regulatory text, and the diplomatic touch that senior customer and carrier relationships require. Licensed Customs Broker, CES, FIATA diploma anchor advancement. The trade-off is the personal exposure that named-responsible-party ocean trade filings carry and the always-on character of ocean trade.
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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 an ocean freight forwarder, you handle the senior layer of ocean-export-specialist work — complex shipments, major customer accounts, regulatory matters, and the senior judgment work behind ocean export operations.
Median pay for a Senior Ocean 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 Coordination, Reading Comprehension, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, and Active Listening.
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 Ocean Export Specialist, Air Freight Forwarder, and GSA Coordinator (General Services Administration Coordinator).
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