Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Manager

Who We Are

Applied Materials is a global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. We design, build and service cutting-edge equipment that helps our customers manufacture display and semiconductor chips – the brains of devices we use every day. As the foundation of the global electronics industry, Applied enables the exciting technologies that literally connect our world – like AI and IoT. If you want to push the boundaries of materials science and engineering to create next generation technology, join us to deliver material innovation that changes the world. 

What We Offer

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You’ll benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages you to learn, develop, and grow your career as you take on challenges and drive innovative solutions for our customers. We empower our team to push the boundaries of what is possible—while learning every day in a supportive leading global company. Visit our Careers website to learn more. 

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Job Summary

The Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) Manager is the enterprise owner of the U.S. FTZ program, with accountability for strategy, governance, regulatory compliance, and operational oversight across all FTZ locations. This role combines people leadership and program management with direct responsibility for managing U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), the FTZ Board, FTZ grantees, and critical internal and external stakeholders.

The FTZ Manager ensures the FTZ program is audit-ready, scalable, and fully embedded into business operations, while delivering compliance assurance, operational excellence, and measurable duty savings. This role provides leadership over FTZ Administrators and Analysts and serves as the primary escalation point for complex compliance, operational, and strategic matters.

The position sits within the Global Trade / Legal & Compliance organization and partners closely with Supply Chain, Logistics, Finance, Manufacturing, IT, and external service providers.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise FTZ Program Ownership & Governance

• Serve as the enterprise owner for all U.S. FTZ programs, zones, and subzones.
• Define and maintain the FTZ governance framework, including policies, Procedures Manuals, SOPs, controls, escalation paths, and compliance metrics.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with 19 CFR Part 146, FTZ Board regulations, and company trade policies.
• Establish and oversee an audit and monitoring framework to validate compliance, inventory integrity, and procedural adherence across all FTZ sites.

Regulatory & External Authority Management

• Act as the primary point of contact and relationship owner for U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Foreign-Trade Zones Board, FTZ Grantees, External auditors, brokers, and service providers.
• Lead all regulatory engagements, including audits, inquiries, disclosures, expansions, activations, and compliance actions.
• Oversee FTZ Board applications, modifications, boundary changes, and site activations.
• Ensure timely and accurate regulatory filings, disclosures, and responses.

Operational Oversight & Risk Management

• Provide executive-level oversight of inbound, outbound, manufacturing, and inventory FTZ operations across all zones.
• Approve and govern exception resolutions and corrective actions, inventory discrepancies and reconciliations, system and process changes impacting FTZ execution
• Ensure accurate and compliant filing strategies for all applicable CBP forms (e.g., 214, 216, 3461, 7501, 7512).
• Identify, assess, and mitigate compliance and operational risks tied to FTZ activity.

Strategic Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Lead FTZ implementations, expansions, and system integrations (e.g., SAP S/4HANA, FTZ software, broker systems).
• Define and track FTZ KPIs, including compliance metrics, cycle time, inventory accuracy, and duty savings.
• Partner with Finance to validate duty savings, cost avoidance, and financial reporting impacts.
• Drive automation, standardization, and process optimization across FTZ operations.
• Embed FTZ requirements into upstream and downstream business processes (logistics, manufacturing, sourcing, inventory management).

People Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Manage and develop the FTZ Administrators and team.
• Set goals, priorities, clear expectations, accountability and development plans for team members.
• Act as the senior escalation point for complex compliance, system, or operational challenges.
• Represent the FTZ program in executive forums and cross-functional governance bodies.
• Build strong partnerships across Supply Chain, Logistics, Manufacturing, IT, Legal, Finance, and external vendors.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 10+ years of experience in global trade compliance, customs operations, or trade program management.
• 5+ years of direct U.S. FTZ program experience, including zone administration and regulatory engagement.
• Demonstrated experience leading regulatory audits, FTZ Board submissions, and CBP interactions.
• Experience managing people and leading compliance or operations teams.
• Experience with SAP S/4HANA and FTZ systems strongly preferred.
• Customs Broker License preferred.

Knowledge, Skills & Competencies

• Expert-level knowledge of U.S. customs regulations and FTZ requirements.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence across a matrixed organization.
• Proven ability to design, implement, and sustain audit-ready compliance programs.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and risk management skills.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage regulators and executives alike.
• Program management mindset with a focus on scalability, automation, and continuous improvement.

Success Characteristics

• Trusted regulatory partner to CBP, FTZ Board, and grantees.
• Strong people leader who develops high-performing compliance teams.
• Strategic thinker who aligns FTZ execution with business objectives.
• Detail-oriented, compliance-driven, and operationally pragmatic.
• Comfortable operating at both executive and execution levels.

Additional Information

Time Type:

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The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at Accommodations_Program@amat.com, or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.