This position is ideal for senior logistics and transportation professionals to join the Americas Logistics organization as Sr. Manager, Logistics Americas, owning the planning and execution of regional transportation within the Order-to-Delivery flow.
The role is accountable for service excellence, cost efficiency, safety, and compliance across a complex, multi-leg parcel and hub-and-spoke network (DHL, UPS, FedEx, and regional partners).
This role has significant responsibility for U.S.–Mexico cross-border transportation and customs complexity, including support for Mexico maquiladora / IMMEX manufacturing environments, close coordination with customs brokers, and partnership with Trade Compliance to ensure compliant, uninterrupted flow across highly regulated borders.
We are open to candidates who are able to work onsite full-time, five (5) days per week at Align Technology Planta 1. We welcome applications from qualified candidates residing in either Ciudad Juárez or El Paso who can reliably commute across the border on a daily basis. Candidates must meet all applicable work authorization, immigration, and travel requirements necessary to work in Mexico on an ongoing basis and be comfortable with daily cross-border travel as part of their regular commute.
Partnering closely with Customer Care, Warehousing, Finance, Trade Compliance, Procurement, and IT, this role acts as business owner for the Transportation Management System (TMS) and plays a critical role in ensuring compliant, on-time delivery to customers in a regulated medical-device environment. The position is a key contributor to regional cost-to-serve performance, service reliability, and logistics risk management.
Role expectations
Transportation & Network Execution
• Own end-to-end transportation planning and execution from collection through Proof of Delivery (POD), including first mile, linehaul, cross-dock, and last mile.
• Govern routing guides, pickup cut-offs, service tiers, multi-leg pathing, and contingency routing across the AMERICAS network.
• Lead returns logistics and first-attempt delivery improvement initiatives in collaboration with carriers and Customer Care.
• Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action (CAPA) for delays, damages, missed deliveries, and no-shows at customer level.
• Own transportation execution for cross-border flows between the U.S. and Mexico, including coordination across carriers, brokers, customs clearance, and manufacturing sites.
• Manage transport complexity supporting maquiladora manufacturing operations, including cross-border lead times, customs cut-offs, and risk mitigation.
People & Partner Leadership
• Build, lead, and develop high-performing transportation teams across internal resources and 3PL partners.
• Establish clear accountability through tiered governance (daily exception huddles, weekly operational reviews, quarterly performance reviews).
• Coach teams and partners on safety, claims prevention, service recovery, and compliant documentation.
• Partner closely with the Americas Customs Manager (direct report) and Trade Compliance to align transportation execution with customs strategies, escalation management, and regulatory requirements.
Tools & Technology (TMS Ownership)
• Act as business owner for the Transportation Management System and related multi-carrier and labeling tools.
• Own the TMS roadmap, business requirements, UAT, release readiness, and adoption in close partnership with IT and Global Process Owners.
• Ensure robust SAP/S4 and WMS integrations supporting a single source of truth for milestones, labels, rates, customs data, and POD.
• Develop transport analytics and BI, including lane-level KPIs, exception dashboards, and CO₂ reporting.
Cost & Budget Management
• Own the regional transportation budget (approx. USD 170M) and deliver cost-to-serve outcomes.
• Optimize cost per case and cost per shipment by country, lane, and leg while protecting service performance.
• Lead monthly cost reviews, forecasts (YTD/YTG), and variance analysis with Finance and carriers.
• Provide tender inputs to Sourcing, govern rates and surcharges, and oversee freight audit and pay.
• Drive a structured savings portfolio across network design, service tiering, consolidation, and packaging optimization.
Service, Quality & Compliance
• Deliver regional On-Time Delivery (OTD), manage lead-time performance (CCA to POD), and improve first-attempt delivery success.
• Lead monthly carrier QBRs covering service, exceptions, claims, POD capture, and recovery actions.
• Ensure carrier compliance with EHS, legal, and safety requirements for road and air transport.
• Enforce transport packaging and handling standards to prevent product damage in a medical-device context.
Customs, Trade & Risk Management
• Provide complete and accurate transportation data and documentation to enable compliant export and import processes.
• Support broker instructions, duty and tax visibility, and POD/IE599 availability for VAT recovery.
• Maintain pre-clearance readiness and actively manage customs holds and escalations.
• Own the transportation risk register and business continuity plans for critical lanes, including capacity disruptions and peak readiness.
• Drive sustainability initiatives to reduce CO₂ per shipment through mode optimization and network design.
• Demonstrated oversight of Mexico maquiladora / maquila / IMMEX programs, including transportation implications and broker coordination.
• Hands-on experience managing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) environments, including inspections, holds, escalations, and corrective actions.
• Lead transportation readiness for highly complex cross-border manufacturing regimes, ensuring alignment across logistics, customs, manufacturing, and compliance.
• Act as senior escalation point for cross-border disruptions, including customs delays, documentation gaps, and capacity constraints.
KPIs (Owned or Co-Owned)
• On-Time Delivery % (regional, carrier, lane)
• Lead Time (CCA → POD) and transit reliability
• First-Attempt Delivery Success % / Doctor No-Show Rate
• Cost per Case, Cost per Shipment/Leg, Freight Audit Recovery
• Claims and Damage Rate; Returns Rate
• POD Capture Rate; Exception Rate (missed scans, address issues)
• CO₂ per shipment or per case
What were looking for
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Logistics, Operations, or related field; Master’s preferred.
• 10+ years of transportation or parcel logistics experience with regional or multi-country and U.S.–Mexico cross-border scope.
• Proven leadership of carrier management and regional teams.
• Demonstrated budget ownership of USD 25M+.
• Proven experience operating in complex Mexico maquiladora / IMMEX environments.
• Direct exposure to CBP-regulated import/export operations in a high-volume or high-complexity setting.
• Experience leading logistics operations in large, scaled, multi-site organizations with significant shipment volume and regulatory complexity (not small or early-stage companies).
Systems & Tools
• Hands-on TMS product ownership experience.
• Strong knowledge of SAP/S4 integration and parcel labeling/manifesting solutions.
• Deep understanding and proven ability to deploy AI within areas of responsibility.
Compliance & Trade
• Deep, hands-on understanding of customs processes, including broker management, maquiladora operations, CBP requirements, and cross-border manufacturing flows between the U.S. and Mexico.
AI & Digital Capability (Mandatory)
• Deep understanding and proven ability to deploy AI and advanced analytics within areas of responsibility to improve service, cost, and decision-making.
Complementary Skills
• Advanced analytical and financial acumen; strong cost-to-serve mindset.
• Network design and optimization capability in parcel and multi-leg environments.
• Stakeholder management across Logistics, Trade Compliance, Finance, IT, and Procurement.
• Experience with TMS platforms such as Transporeon, ShipERP, or equivalent.
• Strong presentation, executive communication, and change-management skills.
• Bilingual, Spanish & English preferred