Trade Operations Southern Border Lead

At Johnson & Johnson,we believe health is everything. Our strength in healthcare innovation empowers us to build aworld where complex diseases are prevented, treated, and cured,where treatments are smarter and less invasive, and solutions are personal.

Through our expertise in Innovative Medicine and Med Tech, we are uniquely positioned to innovate across the full spectrum of healthcare solutions today to deliver the breakthroughs of tomorrow, and profoundly impact health for humanity.

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Supply Chain Deliver

Transportation Services

Professional

El Paso, Texas, United States of America, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America

We are searching for the best talent for a Trade Operations Southern Border Lead. The role must be based out of El Paso, TX.

Purpose:

The Trade Operations Lead Southern Border North America provides hands‑on operational ownership and tactical oversight of Southern‑border maquila activities and U.S. import/export execution for Johnson & Johnson.

Reporting to the Manager, Trade Operations Med Tech North America, this role is the company’s primary operational representative to U.S. Customs (CBP), FDA (as applicable), customs brokers, carriers, 3PLs, surety providers, maquila partners and other governmental authorities. This position ensures, together with other associates from Trade Operations North America also responsible for risk management and post-audit activities, compliance and integrity of Importer of Record (IOR) and Exporter of Record (EOR) responsibilities across the U.S. territory while actively managing the end‑to‑end lifecycle of Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB) to avoid bond claims, penalties, and supply disruptions.

You will be responsible for:

• Respond to requests for information (RFIs), audits, and inquiries from U.S. Customs, FDA, and other government agencies; coordinate evidence collection, prepare responses, and manage follow‑up until resolution.
• Monitor compliance KPIs, duty optimization opportunities (e.g., preferential origin under USMCA), drawback, FTZ or bonded solutions where applicable, and identify cost‑saving opportunities that maintain compliance.
• Drive standard operating procedures, controls, and process improvements for cross‑border trade, TIB management, and maquila operations to reduce risk and cost and increase speed to market.
• Serve as the trade compliance subject matter expert (SME) for cross‑functional and Operating Company (OpCo) projects, providing analysis, implementation guidance, and risk assessments to supply‑chain initiatives.
• Navigate in Trade Software tools to perform reconciliations, audits and check‑points of E2E transactions, involving Maquila, including Mexico Inbound / IMMEX / “Pedimentos” / Mex Exports / US Import, to identify inconsistencies and reduce declaration exposure.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders (Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory Affairs, Legal, Tax, Finance) to ensure smooth cross‑functional execution.
• Follow internal Trade Procedures and maintain audit readiness for customs, trade, and regulatory inspections;
• Proactively identify, quantify, and implement duty‑savings initiatives (duty drawback, preferential origin claims, FTZ strategies), and track realized savings.
• Partner with J&J Deliver Quality, and other areas, to ensure that activities are managed…