Vijay M.

About Vijay M.

Trade Compliance Cat HerderYour in‑flight entertainment, minus the turbulence I see compliance not as paperwork but as strategy and competitive advantage. My work spans U.S. export/import operations and multimodal logistics - air, ocean and road - turning complex regulations into operational clarity and business value. I am a coach, problem‑solver and seasoned cat herder who leads diverse teams, aligns them with KPIs and keeps operations steady under pressure. I pair strict TSA, FMC and U.S. Customs compliance with a mindset that welcomes innovation. Data guides everything I do. Dashboards and BI tools reveal integrity, routing accuracy, cost discipline and on‑time performance. I make compliance engaging, logistics human and operations creative - balancing regulations with results, structure with innovation and expectations with delivery.

Experience

1. Sr Tariff Mitigation Specialist, Global Trade Compliance, Sbu - Advanced Structures (Rtx)

   Collins Aerospace

   Jul 2025 — Present · Seattle, WA, US

   STRUCTUREParent Company RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies)Business Unit 1 Pratt & WhitneyBusiness Unit 2 Collins AerospaceBusiness Unit 3 RaytheonCLIENTCollins Aerospace helps build and support the technology that keeps airplanes flying safely, efficiently, and securely, while also serving defense and space industries- Conducting over 500 BOM analyses using General Note 11, improving USMCA eligibility and reducing duty costs by 15%- Creating 20+ USMCA certificate templates, enabling faster supplier validation and compliance- Delivering onboarding and compliance training to 15+ new contractors, ensuring 100% alignment with global trade regulations- Built an RVC analysis toolkit with 5+ custom flowcharts, shared with my manager and key employees and stocked for future team members and transferees because who doesn’t love a good flowchart:)- Leading tariff mitigation efforts that reduced duty exposure by $250K+ annually- Extracting and analyzing financial BOMs from SAP to support RVC calculations- Collaborating with 4 major customs brokers and 25+ suppliers to validate trade documents- Participating in weekly executive meetings, contributing to dashboards that identified $500K+ in cost-saving opportunities- Maintaining and analyzing trade records in SAP GTS and Excel to support global import reporting- Performing ongoing PN-to-HTS mapping, executing assessments for any HTS code modifications and updating USMCA certificates and qualification records to maintain compliance

Education

• Houston City College

  Associate's Degree, Business Administration

• Houston City College

  Associate Degree , Human Resources Management

• Houston City College

  Associate Degree, Marketing

• Houston City College

  Certificate in Human Resource Management

• Harvard University

  Master's degree, General Management

• Houston City College

  Continuing Education (Completion of Certificate), CEC-1242: Legal and Regulatory Compliance

• Houston City College

  Certificate in Business Administration

• Indira Gandhi National Open University

  Master’s Degree in Commerce, Financial Management, Accounting for Managerial Decisions

• Houston City College

  Continuing Education (Certificate of Completion), CEC 1239: Trade Finance and Payment

• Indira Gandhi National Open University

  Master's Degree (Post Graduate Diploma in International Business Operations)

• Houston City College

  Certificate, Retailing

• Houston City College

  Certificate in International Business