Expert Trade Analyst
Forto · Berlin, State of Berlin · Amsterdam, North Holland
ABOUT US
What if your work could drive change in a globally established industry, shaping processes that touch every corner of the world? At Forto, we are at the forefront of change, harnessing the power of AI to revolutionise logistics. We want to reinvent digital supply chains to be transparent, frictionless and sustainable. From day one, our mission has been to simplify global trade – creating a seamless and efficient logistics process.
About the role
In the Trade Management team, you'll join an international and diverse group of passionate experts. We're transforming the way we approach global logistics – moving from intuition-based decisions to a precision-engineered, data-driven strategy.
We're seeking an Expert Trade Analyst: a technical heavyweight who loves to code, model, and moves fast. You'll be a hands-on builder of the analytical backbone behind our trade management decisions – spending the large majority of your time in the code, building complex data models, writing high-performance queries, and designing algorithms.
You'll be the bridge between raw data and high-level strategy, directly influencing how we handle Procurement, Pricing, and Forecasting. This role rewards speed and creativity as much as technical depth – you should be comfortable using modern AI tooling to work faster and think through problems from first principles rather than by playbook.
Key Responsibilities
Advanced Analytics & Modeling
- Own the data pipelines and models that drive our GP reporting, demand forecasting, and yield management engines.
- Personally write and optimize complex code (SQL, Python/R) to solve our hardest analytical problems – you are the technical escalation point on trade data.
- Build robust predictive models to anticipate market demand and capacity constraints, enabling Procurement to buy smarter and Pricing to sell more effectively.
- Use AI tools (e.g., coding assistants, LLMs) to accelerate development, prototyping, and analysis – we want speed of thinking matched by speed of execution.
- Design comprehensive dashboards (Looker/Tableau/PowerBI) that translate complex data into clear, actionable insight for senior leadership and non-technical stakeholders.
Market Intelligence & Insight Generation
- Gather and synthesize external market data (indices, competitor behavior, macro-trends) and merge it with internal performance data.
- Provide specific, data-backed recommendations to Trade Managers on trade lane strategy, carrier negotiations, and risk management.
- Bring creative, non-obvious angles to problems – this role isn't just execution against a spec, it's originating the analysis nobody asked for yet.
Required Skills and Experience
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, or a related quantitative field.
- 5+ years of experience in advanced analytics, data science, or quantitative modeling.
- Technical mastery:
- Expert-level SQL (complex joins, window functions, query optimization).
- Strong programming skills in Python or R for statistical modeling.
- Fluent and pragmatic use of AI tools to accelerate coding and analysis.
- Deep understanding of commercial levers (Pricing, Gross Profit, Yield, Procurement).
- A demonstrated ability to think creatively and solve ambiguous problems quickly — this role moves at speed, in both thinking and execution.
- Strong communicator, able to translate technical work for business stakeholders.
Preferred Skills and Experience
- Experience specifically within Freight Forwarding, Container Shipping, or Global Logistics.
- Experience with Yield Management or Revenue Management algorithms.
- Familiarity with financial hedging strategies or risk modeling.
Don’t fit all of our criteria? That’s okay! We know that you might be hesitant to apply if you don’t meet all our requirements, but here at Forto, we pride ourselves on embracing diverse perspectives and celebrating potential. If you are passionate about this position and the Forto values, please apply anyway. There could be a place for you in this role - or another one that’s a perfect fit!
WHY WORK WITH US?
Our team is hard-working, constantly seeking to maximise the impact of their work, but we put our people first, always winning with care. We value efficient systems and swift, direct communication. We want everyone to have their time to speak, so that we can embrace diverse perspectives to help drive towards solutions always.