Director of DOT Safety

Customs Goods LLC; Carson (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Custom Goods seeks a Director of Transportation Safety & Compliance to provide leadership on DOT/FMSCR compliance and safety programs across Carson and Oakland. You will oversee driver onboarding, audits, inspections, and health & safety training, coordinating with harbor stakeholders to ensure regulatory adherence.

Requirements include a Bachelor’s in Logistics/Business and 5–7 years in intermodal/drayage transport, with strong leadership and regulatory expertise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Degree in Logistics / Business.
• 5 - 7 years’ Intermodal and Drayage Transportation experience.
• Experience in hiring, developing, training, reviewing, and actions based on employee performance.
• Data set gathering on local drayage market pricing, competition, and risk reward modeling.
• Thorough knowledge of harbor, rail & SSL requirements, laws.
• Understand of and ability to operate in the Samsara ELD environment, understanding issues and providing solutions.
• Able to assist with training and compliance on Pre-Trip and Post-Trip observations in line with EMS policy.
• DOT/FMCSA regulations and knowledge of all applied rules including HOS, and investigation of violations.
• Knowledge of overweight container activity in LA-LB and Oakland and out of gauge requirements strongly desired.

Responsibilities

• Direct supervision and maintenance of all standardized processes for company commercial driver on-boarding including but limited to; MVR Reviews and approvals, Driver Qualification File reviews and approvals, Driver Background Checks, Pre-Employment Medical Screening, DOT Drug & Alcohol Testing, DACH compliance, and data entry with the California DMV EPN program.
• Oversee multiple locations (Carson and Oakland) with up to a hundred company drivers and ~50,000 containers/year.
• Collaborate with harbor management and port meetings to stay current with DOT-related details.
• Possess thorough knowledge of LA/LB and Oakland drayage operations.
• Develop and execute strategic plan to meet growth and profitability objectives.
• Oversee transportation compliance data maintenance and electronic records.
• Manage driver hours-of-service compliance with ELD in coordination with Operations.
• Prepare and submit all required Federal and State trucking registrations, licensing, and compliance reports.
• Engage with senior Executives of clients and partners.
• Adopt best practices to achieve incident prevention and regulatory compliance.
• Assist health & safety guidance, plan/procedure development and incident response; support training programs.
• Provide supervision to facility operations using Yard Tractors ensuring driver licensing and drug testing compliance.
• Ensure periodic inspections and maintenance for DOT compliance across the fleet.
• Collaborate on expansion of trucking entities beyond California.

Skills

Leadership

Training & Development

Data analysis

Regulatory knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Degree in Logistics / Business

Tools

Samsara ELD

Job description

Summary/Objective:

In this role, the Director of Transportation Safety & Compliance will be responsible for providing transportation safety leadership, compliance support, and guidance to all Custom Goods Transportation entities, with emphasis of ensuring compliance with all the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (DOT/FMSCR) as well as individual state commercial vehicle operating and safety regulations. The Director of Transportation Safety & Compliance will be responsible in writing to implement and enforce all company fleet safety policies and standards. In addition, this position will also be responsible for conducting commercial vehicle and driver document audits, DOT Compliance inspections, safety meetings and safety training, and will be responsible for follow-up on all injuries, incidents & accidents for Custom Goods Transportation entities. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Direct supervision and maintenance of all standardized processes for company commercial driver on-boarding including but limited to; Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Reviews and approvals, Driver Qualification File reviews and approvals, Driver Background Checks, Pre-Employment Medical Screening, DOT Drug & Alcohol Testing, compliance with all Federal Drug and Alcohol Clearing House (DACH) requirements, compliance with all requirements for data entry and data maintenance with the California DMV Electronic Pull Notice (EPN) program.
• Responsible for multiple locations managing within the Quik Pick Express and Custom Air Transportation asset-based employee driver model both in Carson and Oakland with up to a hundred company drivers as dictated by business model moving 50,000 containers per year from US ports to deconsolidation distribution centers and direct to customer warehouse locations.
• Work closely with harbor management while participating in port meetings including involvement in the HTA, CTA, or other associations to ensure we have the most current vital details and knowledge.
• Thorough knowledge of Harbor operations at the Ports of LA/LB and Oakland Drayage operations.
• Further develop and enhance the strategic business plan to accomplish the established growth and profitability objectives.
• Responsible for oversight of all transportation compliance data maintenance within all electronic driver and vehicle data retention and compliance systems.
• Direct supervision of all company policies, and procedures ensuring driver hours-of-service compliance in coordination & conjunction with Operations Personnel through the utilization of Electronic Logging Devices.
• Prepare and submit all required Federal and State DOT Trucking Registrations, Licensing, and Compliance Reports as required.
• Participation and interaction with senior-level Executives of our clients and partners.
• Seek out industry best practices and more effective and efficient methods to achieve Operational Excellence in Incident Prevention and DOT Trucking Compliance, including staying abreast of all DOT and regulatory changes and trends.
• Assist with health & safety technical guidance, plan/procedure development and implementation, as well as incident notification/response, and other routine compliance issues and requests.
• Conduct and contribute to safety meetings and driver training programs on a recurring basis.
• Provide direct supervision and guidance to all Custom Goods facility operations utilizing Yard Tractors (Yard Goats) ensuring compliance with all driver licensing for the class of equipment being operated as well as all required driver documentation and drug testing to ensure only qualified drivers are being utilized.
• Provide guidance to ensure all Custom Goods facility operations utilizing Yard Tractors (Yard Goats) have the required periodic inspections, maintenance and repair policies, procedures, and service vendors to ensure DOT compliance.
• Responsible for complete oversight of the company M&R operations responsible for commercial tractor, chassis, and trailer periodic inspections, routine maintenance, and repairs within the ability of the M&R staff and M&R facility.
• Collaboration with senior operations management for the expansion of current company trucking entities (CAT and QPE) to states and jurisdictions outside of California.
• Other Transportation Safety related duties and projects assigned by SVP of Transportation.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or Advanced Degree in Logistics / Business
• 5 - 7 years’ Intermodal and Drayage Transportation experience
• Responsible for hiring, developing, training, reviewing, and actions based on employee performance.
• Data set gathering on local drayage market pricing, competition, and risk reward modeling.
• Thorough knowledge of harbor, rail & SSL requirements, laws.
• Understand of and ability to operate in the Samsara ELD environment, understanding issues and providing solutions.
• Able to assist with training and compliance on Pre-Trip and Post-Trip observations in line with EMS policy.
• DOT/FMCSA regulations and knowledge of all applied rules including HOS, and investigation of violations.
• Knowledge of overweight container activity in LA-LB and Oakland and out of gauge requirements strongly desired.

AAP/EEO Statement:

Custom Goods is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, citizenship status, uniform service member status, age, disability, sexual and gender orientation, genetic information or any other protected status in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws. This commitment extends to all aspects of Custom Goods employment practices including, but not limited to, recruiting, hiring, promoting, transferring, compensation, benefits, training, leaves of absence, termination, and other terms and conditions of employment.