Localization Specialist (12 Month Fixed-Term Contract) (in Tokyo)
About Staffbase
We inspire people to achieve great things together. Our mission is to help organizations unlock the power of inspirational communication. Our industry-leading and award-winning communications channels – intranet, employee app and email solutions – create engaging experiences that connect and empower employees.
Headquartered in Chemnitz, Germany, with offices in Berlin, New York, London, and Minneapolis–St. Paul, our diverse team of 750+ employees supports 2,000+ customers—reaching over 16.4 million employees—in transforming their employee experience.
We are proud to be a Unicorn company—privately valued at over $1 billion—demonstrating strong growth, innovation, and lasting impact in our industry. Together, we’re shaping the future of workplace communication.
Staffbase helps companies supercharge internal communications with an employee app platform used globally. Our rising presence in Japan makes us seek a Localization Specialist to bring our product, content, and user experiences to Japanese teams and users.
Please note that this is a 12 month fixed term contract role.
What you’ll be doing
- Translate, proofread, and edit product UI, help articles, blog posts, marketing and sales materials, website, partner portal, training, and communications for Japanese audiences
- Maintain glossaries, Japanese style guides, and translation memory to ensure linguistic consistency and cultural resonance
- Partner with product managers, engineers, marketing, sales and support to contextualize content appropriately for Japan
- Coordinate translation flow with external vendors or agencies; manage SLA/KPI adherence
- Support QA and linguistic testing to ensure polished final output
- Continuously design and improve processes—leveraging CAT tools, MT/AI, automation, and localization engineering workflows
- Support localization projects—including press releases, events, customer communication, and regional campaigns
- Assist with our Marketing team during in-person events
What you need to be successful
- Native-level Japanese speaker and fluent in English
- 8+ years of experience in localization or translation with SaaS, software, marketing or technical environments
- Highly detail-oriented, organized, and capable of juggling multiple projects in a fast-paced environment
- Excellent interpersonal and project-management skills
- Ability to work independently
- A team player with initiative, curiosity, and the ability to thrive in a collaborative, evolving environment
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (linguistics, communications, engineering, business, etc.) or equivalent professional experience
- Past experience in managing subcontractors/vendors and translation pipelines
- Familiarity with generative AI/ML tools for localization, and usage of quality scoring or post-editing workflows
- Understanding of Japanese cultural norms and local market communications
What you'll get
- Competitive Compensation - we offer attractive salary packages
- Flexibility - we offer flexible working time models and the option of hybrid work
- Growth Budget - all employees get a yearly budget for external training
- Wellbeing - in addition to yearly vacation days of 30 days p.a., we’re running a 4-day work week every year in August with full payment
- Support - we’re offering support on private health insurance. Parents can get 12 weeks of paid parental leave
If you're an experienced marketing professional with a passion for the Japanese market and a desire to be part of an exciting global team, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today to join Staffbase and help us lead the way in internal communications!