Global Logistics Specalist

Bedrock Ocean Exploration; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 145,000; Full time

Job summary

Bedrock Ocean Exploration is seeking a Global Logistics Specialist to own the worldwide movement of equipment from our Richmond facility. You will design and implement the systems, processes, and carrier relationships needed to ship into new countries smoothly and on schedule.

You will manage international shipping, dangerous goods, and customs documentation while collaborating with operations, leadership, and external partners. This is a hands-on, build-it role with a clear path to growth.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of hands-on logistics, shipping, or supply chain work.
• International shipping experience, including carnets and customs clearance.
• Working knowledge of international import/export rules and regulations.
• Dangerous goods shipping experience; lithium battery experience strongly preferred.
• Experience with ITAR and export-controlled shipments is a plus.
• Ability to obtain/maintain U.S. Secret clearance if required.

Responsibilities

• Own the global movement of Bedrock's equipment end to end, including Ops Kits.
• Plan and execute shipments to and from job sites worldwide.
• Maintain visibility: know where every kit and case is at all times.
• Develop lead times, contingencies, and backup plans in advance.
• Navigate international shipping, customs docs, and HS classifications.
• Evaluate and negotiate with freight forwarders and carriers.
• Own dangerous goods shipping and compliance programs.
• Own shipping/receiving for the Richmond facility.
• Design and build systems for tracking, playbooks, and carrier scorecards.
• Scale the function as Bedrock expands its footprint.

Skills

Attention to detail

Planning

Hands-on ownership

Communication

Packing & shipping

Tools & AI usage

Tools

AI tools

Job description

The Role

We are the explorers. We are the builders. We are the Wayfinders.

Bedrock is mapping the unseen world beneath our oceans and building the systems to do it at scale.

Every map we make starts with a pallet on a dock. Our Ops Kits - the autonomous vehicles, sensors, batteries, spares, and tooling that make a survey possible - move constantly between Richmond and the water, wherever that water happens to be. A kit that clears customs in a day instead of a week is the difference between a survey that runs and a survey that slips.

We're hiring our first Global Logistics Specialist to own that entirely.

This is a builder role. You will own the worldwide movement of Bedrock's equipment and every shipment that goes out of, or comes into, our Richmond facility. Much of what this function needs doesn't exist yet, and you'll build it: the tracking, the customs playbook, the dangerous goods program, the carrier relationships, the standards that let us ship into a country we've never shipped into before and have it go smoothly the first time.

We operate mostly across the US, UK, and EU today. That footprint is growing, and this role grows with it - with a clear path to Logistics Manager, and a team, as our global operations expand.

What You'll Do

This role lives in the details and protects the whole operation. Nothing leaves this building unaccounted for, and nothing arrives late because someone didn't check.

Worldwide Ops Kit Logistics

• Own the global movement of Bedrock's equipment, including Ops Kits, end to end:

  • Plan and execute shipments to and from job sites anywhere we operate

  • Know where every kit and every case is, at all times, without having to go look

  • Build in the lead time, the contingency, and the backup plan before anyone asks for one

• Solve the hard shipping problems:

  • A part needed on the other side of the world in 48 hours

  • A kit held at a border with a survey window closing

  • A route into a country we haven't shipped to before

International Shipping, Customs & Compliance

• Own international shipping end to end:

  • Carnets, commercial invoices, HS classification, and customs documentation that clears the first time

  • Evaluate, recommend, and negotiate with freight forwarders and carriers

  • Manage carrier performance once selected, and hold them to it

• Be Bedrock's authority on import and export rules:

  • Stay current across the jurisdictions we operate in, and get smart fast on the ones we're entering

  • Navigate ITAR and export-controlled shipments correctly, working with our government and defense programs

  • Keep us compliant without letting compliance become the reason something is late

• Own dangerous goods shipping:

  • Ship lithium batteries and other dangerous goods correctly, safely, and on schedule

  • Maintain the certifications, packaging standards, and documentation that keep us moving

Shipping & Receiving

• Own all shipping and receiving for the company from our Richmond facility:

  • Pack it so it arrives in the same condition it left

  • Receive, inspect, and route everything that comes through the door

  • Keep the shipping and receiving area organized, labeled, and easy to work in

Building the Function

• Design the systems that don't exist yet:

  • Shipment tracking and visibility

  • Customs and documentation playbooks by country

  • Dangerous goods and export-control procedures

  • Carrier scorecards, cost benchmarks, and lead-time standards

• Scale it all as our footprint expands beyond the US, UK, and EU

• Keep everyone informed:

  • Production, operations, and leadership always know what's shipped, what's landed, and what's at risk

Who You Are

You're an early-to-mid-career logistics professional who wants to own a function outright and build it into something excellent.

You've moved complicated things across borders under real deadlines, and you have a point of view about how it should be done.

Experience

• 3-5+ years of hands-on logistics, shipping and receiving, or supply chain work

• International shipping experience, including ATA carnets and customs clearance

• Working knowledge of international import and export rules and regulations

• Dangerous goods shipping experience; lithium battery experience strongly preferred

• Experience with ITAR and export-controlled shipments

• Established relationships with major international carriers and freight forwarders

• Nice to have:

  • Dangerous Goods Shipping Certificate

  • ITAR Certification

  • Experience supporting hardware, robotics, or field equipment logistics

  • Experience building or materially improving a logistics function at an early-stage company

How You Operate

• Your attention to detail is extraordinary. You notice the crooked sign, the wrong label, the mail carrier running late

• You are a planner. You think three shipments ahead and you know where everything is and how to find it

• You can pack and ship anything. It arrives on time and in excellent shape

• You finish what you start. Nothing sits half-done

• You are obsessive about communication. People never have to ask you for a status

• You do whatever it takes, including the occasional night or weekend, when a shipment or a deadline demands it

• You use tools and AI to increase speed, accuracy, and leverage

What You Care About

• You want to build a function, not inherit one

• You take pride in craft, precision, and getting it right

• You like being in the room, in the warehouse, hands on the boxes

• You have some connection to the ocean - professional, academic, or personal - or you're excited to be around people who dive, sail, build, and explore offshore

What Success Looks Like

• Equipment arrives where it's needed, on time, intact, every time

• Customs is a solved problem, not a recurring emergency

• Dangerous goods move on schedule, safely and correctly, every time

• We can ship into a new country without it becoming a project

• Nobody has to ask where a shipment is

Not a Fit If…

• You want a planning or coordination role without hands-on ownership

• You prefer a large, structured environment with established processes and a team around you

• You'd rather not be on the floor, packing, receiving, and organizing

• You're uncomfortable being the only person who owns this

• You're looking for remote or low-collaboration work

Requirements

• Ability to work on-site in Richmond, CA

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret security clearance if required

• Able and willing to travel up to 15% of the time, including to international locations

• Valid passport, and the ability to obtain visas for the countries we operate in

Compensation: The base salary range for this role is $100,000- $145,000 per year plus equity. Final compensation is determined by factors such as the candidate's experience, skills, and qualifications.

If you want to build the logistics backbone of a company exploring the ocean, we should talk.