Trade Compliance Operations Manager

NXP Semiconductors NV; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

NXP Semiconductors NV in Kuala Lumpur leads the Trade Compliance Operations team, balancing hands-on execution with people leadership to ensure high-quality, playbook-based classification and related activities.

The KL team will grow to take on broader trade compliance execution tasks, with the manager actively performing work while guiding the team and scaling processes for efficiency and risk control.

Qualifications

• 6-10+ years’ experience in trade compliance operations or similar regulated environments.
• Proven people leadership experience with hands-on execution.
• Strong understanding of classification execution, documentation discipline, and escalation logic.

Responsibilities

• Hands-on execution of trade compliance activities within playbooks and decision frameworks.
• Build, lead, and coach the KL team; allocate work and monitor queues.
• Enforce playbook discipline; ensure quality, audit-ready evidence, and correct escalation.
• Scale KL execution through standardization, feedback to global towers, and workflow improvements.
• Collaborate with Operations Control Tower, Infrastructure, and risk teams on escalation and scope transitions.

Skills

Leadership

Trade compliance

Classification execution

Escalation governance

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

Job description

Role Purpose

Lead and develop the Kuala Lumpur (KL) execution capability as part of NXP’s global Trade Compliance Operations team. This role combines hands-on execution with people leadership to ensure high-quality, playbook-based trade compliance execution, with disciplined escalation of novel, sensitive, or precedent-setting matters through the Operations Control Tower (and Trade Compliance Infrastructure) to the relevant authority teams.

The first scope in KL is classification execution, over time, other Trade Compliance execution activities will be transferred to the KL team.

This is a player-coach role: the manager is expected to actively execute work in addition to managing the team.

Key Responsibilities

Hands-on execution

• Personally execute trade compliance activities within approved playbooks and decision frameworks, especially during ramp-up and peak periods.


• Perform routine classification execution where playbook coverage exists and prepare clean, authority-ready escalation packages and route them through the Operations Control Tower in line with defined escalation rules.


• Ensure execution quality, documentation completeness, and audit-ready evidence.

Team leadership & delivery ownership

• Build, lead, and coach the KL Trade Compliance Operations Coordinators.


• Allocate work, manage queues, monitor cycle times, and balance workload.


• Act as first point of contact for execution issues and ensure consistent application of playbooks and escalation rules.


• Run daily/weekly delivery routines and performance check-ins.

Execution governance & quality

• Enforce strict playbook discipline: routine work executed in KL; novel/precedent cases escalated per defined triggers.


• Run first-line quality assurance (sampling, error tracking, root-cause analysis).


• Drive corrective actions, retraining, and continuous improvement.

Scaling & continuous improvement

• Identify recurring execution patterns suitable for standardization or playbook expansion.


• Provide structured feedback to global Operations Control Tower and Infrastructure teams.


• Support the controlled expansion of KL execution scope over time.


• Contribute to workflow, data, and tooling improvements (including assistive AI use where appropriate).

Cross-functional coordination

• Work closely with the Operations Control Tower on routing, prioritization, and reporting.


• Interface primarily with the Operations Control Tower and Trade Compliance Infrastructure on escalation, prioritization, and scope transitions; authority teams are engaged through defined escalation channels.


• Partner with Infrastructure, Process, and Risk teams on playbooks, controls, and evidence standards.

Qualifications / Experience

• 6-10+ years’ experience in trade compliance operations, export controls operations, customs operations, or similar regulated execution environments.


• Proven people leadership experience combined with hands-on execution background.


• Strong practical understanding of classification execution, documentation discipline, and escalation logic (deep legal interpretation not required).


• Comfortable operating as a player-coach in a scaling environment.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., business, supply chain, engineering, law, international trade), or equivalent practical experience.

Language

• Fluent in English (written and spoken).


• Additional languages are a plus but not required.

More information about NXP in Malaysia