Ocean Operations Manager
Posted Jun 1, 2026
The Opportunity:
Flexport is insourcing operations in Japan — one of the world's most quality-driven and relationship-led freight markets. To stand up our in-house Tokyo operations team, we are seeking a Senior Operations Developer: a deeply experienced freight forwarding operator who will help us build the local team, establish the right vendor relationships, and accelerate the velocity of our insourcing initiative. Japan is a market where seniority and trust take precedence in business dealings, and where local relationships with carriers, CFS providers, and drayage partners are difficult and slow to build from the outside. As Senior Operations Developer, you will use your existing network and operational expertise to dramatically shorten that ramp time — laying the foundation for a Tokyo operations function that supports a projected ~150 FCL, ~30 LCL, and ~44 Air shipments per month by year-end 2026. ## You will:
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Establish and strengthen Flexport's relationships and operating arrangements with key local vendors in Japan, including CFS, drayage providers, ocean carriers, and customs partners. - Lead the sourcing, screening, and hiring of the local Tokyo operations team — including Ocean and Air operators — and act as the in-country hiring authority for operational roles. - Design the end-to-end operational process for Japan: booking management, documentation, customs interaction, terminal handling, drayage coordination, exception management, and post-arrival processes. - Drive operational execution readiness, ensuring SOPs, SLAs, and KPIs are in place before each new shipment flow is brought in-house. - Increase the velocity of insourcing by leading the transition from external partners to in-house execution, including knowledge transfer, system setup, and partner offboarding. - Act as the senior operational voice in client-facing meetings where local credibility is required, working closely with the commercial team on benchmarking opportunities and net-new deals. - Collaborate cross-functionally with APAC operations, Procurement, Pricing, and Account Management to ensure Japan operations align with global Flexport standards while respecting local market practice. - Coach and mentor newly hired Japanese operations staff, helping them grow into long-term Flexport leaders. ##