Senior Ocean Freight Sales Manager - Ocean Import, Machinery

Skypace; Norfolk (VA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Skypace in Norfolk, Virginia, is looking for a Senior Commercial Manager for their Machinery ocean import portfolio. This role requires 7+ years of ocean freight sales experience and involves leading client management and strategic account development.

The ideal candidate will manage a mature book of business, focusing on client retention and operational influence. Responsibilities include mentoring junior representatives and ensuring competitive pricing strategies. A proactive approach to client relationships and problem-solving is essential.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of ocean freight sales experience at forwarders, NVOCCs, or 3PLs serving the Mid-Atlantic market.
• A mature book of business with retention from accounts owned for 24 months or longer.
• Fluency in cargo planning and customs entry.

Responsibilities

• Lead senior commercial coverage of the Norfolk Machinery portfolio.
• Manage the transition of a mature book under a co-designed 90-day plan.
• Track overall portfolio performance and expand the book through strategic account development.

Skills

Machinery import

USHTS classification

Carrier contract negotiation

Commercial leadership

MQC management

Customs liability management

Executive client relationships

Job description

If you have built a mature Machinery ocean import book through the Port of Virginia at Norfolk, retention is rewarded across the lifecycle, so the book you build keeps paying you. Year 1 commission runs at 15 to 20% of gross profit with no cap, and sunset rates continue across the account lifecycle.

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 operates 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.

Operational data accumulates as a clean, structured record that supports continuous process improvement today and becomes foundational as supply chains integrate AI‑driven decision agents into planning, execution, and exception handling.

Why this role exists

This role leads senior commercial coverage of Skypace's Machinery ocean import portfolio through the Port of Virginia at Norfolk, across mechanical appliances, industrial machinery, engines, and equipment. Senior coverage at Skypace combines portfolio activation, retention discipline, and operational influence over how Skypace handles equipment planning, classification accuracy, and freight audit defense.

Experience

7+ years (84 months)

Incentive

Year 1: 15-20% of GP, no cap. Sunset: 12% (Y2), 7% (Y3+). Bonus accelerator: 10% of GP on three highest GP months.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of ocean freight sales at forwarders, NVOCCs, or 3PLs serving the Mid‑Atlantic market, including portfolio leadership across Machinery import.
• A mature book compounded through retention, with a meaningful share of annual gross profit from accounts owned 24 months or longer.
• Fluency in USHTS classification, equipment‑constrained cargo planning, and capital‑equipment customs entry.
• Carrier contract structure, MQC commitments, customs liability ownership, and freight audit logic.
• Decision‑maker access at the top of accounts among supply chain VPs, operations directors, and plant logistics leads.

Responsibilities

• Lead senior commercial coverage of the Norfolk Machinery portfolio.
• Manage the transition of a mature book under a co‑designed 90‑day plan.
• Track overall portfolio performance and expand the book through strategic Mid‑Atlantic account development.
• Partner with the procurement and account management teams to build more competitive service proposals for customers across pricing, technology, and scale.
• Provide cross‑functional input to the product roadmap.
• Mentor one or two junior sales representatives from month 9 to 12, with account managers and operations owning day‑to‑day client management and delivery.

Skills

• Machinery import, USHTS classification, equipment‑constrained cargo planning, carrier contract negotiation.
• MQC management.
• Customs liability management.
• Executive client relationships.
• Commercial leadership.

How the operation runs

Skypace operates on a proactive monitoring discipline. Milestones are tracked through live data across the entire shipment ecosystem. When a deviation in schedule, cost, or capacity surfaces within the operating environment, Skypace initiates the next operational action 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 or reefer plug charges where applicable. The number the client sees at quote stands on the invoice. Skypace treats pricing integrity as a commercial discipline that holds from quote through to settlement.