Sales Ocean Freight Sales Agent, Petrochemicals & Polymers Export

Skypace; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Commission up to 30% on gross profit

Annual bonus accelerator

Phantom equity participation

Job summary

Skypace in Houston is looking for an Ocean Freight Sales Agent for Gulf Coast petrochemical exports. You will manage a portfolio of accounts and operate independently to leverage your established relationships in the petrochemical sector.

Your strong background in ocean freight sales and deep understanding of compliance requirements is essential. This role offers up to 30% commission on gross profit with no cap, reflecting your contributions to the company.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in ocean freight sales or petrochemical export brokerage.
• Operated an existing portfolio with $500K+ in annual gross profit.
• Fluency in petrochemical export compliance and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Manage an independent portfolio of Gulf Coast petrochemical accounts.
• Issue quotes in conversation with producers or trading houses.
• Monitor cost deviations proactively and defend claims.

Skills

Ocean freight sales

Petrochemical export brokerage

Compliance with chemical regulations

Direct producer relationships

Independent commercial operation

Job description

Ocean Freight Sales Agent, Petrochemicals & Polymers Export

If you broker ocean exports for Gulf Coast producers of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacetals, synthetic rubber, or other resin and chemical products, this role places your existing book within an operating environment that respects the scale and rhythm of petrochemical exports.

About Skypace

Skypace serves shippers whose freight programs depend on consistent execution across repeated ocean movements, multiple service providers, and constant commercial pressure on cost, timing, and space allocation. For these companies, performance is shaped by how systematically pricing, allocation, and milestone visibility move alongside the shipment itself.

Skypace demonstrates a global operating environment where this coordination is built into the workflow as a structural standard. Shippers, carriers, drayage providers, and internal teams operate through a shared data structure that accumulates context, supports timely decisions, and preserves the operational record across the shipment lifecycle.

Today, this model supports more than 150 customers across 18 countries through direct integrations with top 10 ocean carriers, among them MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM, COSCO, and Hapag‑Lloyd. The operating environment optimizes shipper performance across freight cost, communication discipline, error reduction, booking speed, and visibility into how each participating party performs against commitment.

How the operation runs

Skypace operates on a proactive monitoring discipline. Milestones are tracked through live data across the entire shipment ecosystem. Deviations in schedule, cost, or capacity surface within the operating environment, and the next operational action is initiated by Skypace before the client encounters the problem.

The instant‑quote and online booking engine compresses commercial response time from days to minutes. Carrier MQC commitments hold during peak season, which is the period when allocation decides whether a shipper’s seasonal cycle preserves its margin or absorbs unplanned cost.

The quote engine surfaces every accessorial at the quote stage, including peak surcharges, GRI, port congestion fees, drayage components, and specialty equipment charges where applicable. The number the client sees at quote stands on the invoice. Pricing integrity is treated as a commercial discipline, not a service feature.

Why this role exists

Gulf Coast petrochemical export is a strategic export segment of the United States, polymers in primary forms, synthetic rubber, organic and inorganic chemical compounds, moving through Houston into Brazil, Belgium, China, India, and other major industrial destinations. The book that supports a commission‑only agent in this segment is built across years of producer relationships, off‑take negotiation discipline, and operational fluency in carrier allocation during periods of capacity tightness. Skypace runs a dedicated commission‑only track for the independent agent who already operates inside that segment and benefits from negotiated carrier allocation, transparent pricing, and operational support across each shipment.

What the role holds

The role manages an independent portfolio of Gulf Coast petrochemical and polymer export accounts. Pricing and booking authority live with the agent. Quotes are issued in conversation with the producer or trading house, peak surcharge, hazmat handling fee where applicable, port congestion, inland rail or drayage component, all surfaced at quote stage. The number stands on the invoice.

Carrier allocation planning runs alongside the operations team. MQC commitments are documented in advance, so allocation holds when shipping schedules tighten. The role represents Skypace’s protection of producer commercial interests through transparent pricing, proactive cost‑deviation monitoring, and the risk mitigation that supports claims defense when product specification, container quality, or destination compliance enter the conversation.

Attribution is tracked in CRM from day one of activation. Sunset rates apply across the first three account years to recognize long‑term commercial ownership of each producer relationship.

You are the right candidate if

• Operate an existing book of Gulf Coast petrochemical or polymer export accounts, producers, trading houses, or off‑takers of polyethylene, polypropylene, synthetic rubber, polyacetals, acrylic polymers, or inorganic chemical compounds, with a book scope of $500K+ in annual gross profit or a credible path to that level within year one based on documented commitments.
• Bring 5+ years in ocean freight sales or petrochemical export brokerage, operating fluently in liner allocation mechanics, dry bulk‑to‑container conversion economics, hazmat documentation, and the destination market dynamics of major industrial polymer buyers.
• Operate fluently in petrochemical export compliance: REACH and similar destination market chemical regulations, IMDG documentation for hazardous classifications where applicable, certificate of origin and country of origin discipline for tariff‑sensitive destinations.
• Hold direct relationships with two or more producer or trading‑house accounts at the level required for credible portfolio activation, commercial directors, logistics managers, or off‑take coordinators, not procurement intermediaries.
• Operate as a commercial independent, attracted by infrastructure, allocation, and pricing transparency rather than by base salary structure.

Compensation

• Year 1 commission: up to 30% of gross profit, no cap. Condition: recognizes strategic commodity portfolio and allocation work.
• Year 2 commission: 20% of gross profit. Condition: sunset rate as account stabilizes into operational rhythm.
• Year 3+ commission: 12% of gross profit. Condition: maintenance rate for long‑term relationship retention.
• Annual bonus accelerator: 10% of GP on three highest GP months. Condition: distributed by February 1 of the following year.
• Phantom equity participation: available for sustained portfolio performance. Condition: tied to gross profit milestones, separate plan document.