Overview
We are seeking a highly capable Senior Bilingual Software Engineer to serve as the connective layer between our Forward-Deployed U.S. teams and our Platform Core Engineering team in Japan.
This role reports directly to the CTO, reflecting its strategic importance in aligning product direction, platform evolution, and field execution.
This role is not about language translation. In an AI-enabled environment, its core responsibility is context alignment and leverage maximization—ensuring both teams operate with a shared understanding of priorities, constraints, urgency, and intent.
You will play a critical role in making sure:
The Platform Core team focuses on the highest-impact problems, grounded in real-world usage
The Forward-Deployed teams extract maximum value from the platform, leveraging it effectively and correctly
This is a high-impact role at the center of a two-speed organization: fast-moving field execution and a scalable, reusable platform.
Key Responsibilities
Act as the primary interface between Forward-Deployed U.S. teams and the Platform Core team in Japan, driving deep, bidirectional context alignment
Continuously synthesize and communicate what is happening on the ground—including priorities, urgency, constraints, and team sentiment (“temperature”)
Translate not just requirements, but intent, trade-offs, and decision rationale across both sides
Influence platform roadmap and product strategy by ensuring decisions are grounded in real-world usage, high-impact opportunities, and evolving field needs
Ensure the Platform Core team is working on the highest-value problems, with clear prioritization informed by field context
Ensure Forward-Deployed teams fully leverage the platform, including understanding its capabilities, constraints, and intended design patterns
Drive cross-regional program execution, including:
Defining and maintaining clear priorities, milestones, and success criteria across teams
Managing dependencies, risks, and trade-offs between Forward-Deployed and Platform Core workstreams
Establishing and enforcing execution cadence (planning, check-ins, reviews) across time zones
Ensuring accountability and follow-through on key initiatives
Facilitate technical discussions, design reviews, and prioritization decisions across regions
Improve internal systems for global collaboration, including documentation, communication cadence, and decision-making frameworks
Qualifications
Required
Near-native proficiency in both English and Japanese, capable of conveying nuanced context such as priorities, urgency, assumptions, and technical trade-offs.
7+ years of experience in software engineering, with strong exposure to system design and real-world implementation
4+ years of prior experience operating as a Software Engineer within a U.S.-based organization, where English was the primary language for technical discussions, design reviews, and deliverables, both orally and in writing.
Strong understanding of modern software architecture (APIs, backend systems, data models)
Proven ability to operate across product, engineering, and implementation contexts
Experience working with distributed or cross-border teams
Strong communication skills with the ability to convey nuanced context, not just information
Preferred
Experience in platform engineering or building extensible systems
Familiarity with ERP, supply chain systems, or complex business applications
Experience with SaaS integrations or composable/headless architectures
Background in solution architecture or technical program management
Experience in a startup or high-growth environment
Experience or familiarity with modern systems programming languages (e.g., Go, Rust) and/or TypeScript, aligning with the Platform Core team's current or evolving technology stack.
What Success Looks Like
The Platform Core team consistently prioritizes high-impact work aligned with real field needs
Forward-Deployed teams maximize leverage from the platform, minimizing unnecessary custom work
Reduced rework and friction caused by misalignment in priorities, assumptions, or timing
Clear and shared understanding of technical trade-offs and decision rationale across both teams
Faster feedback loops between field execution and platform evolution
High trust and strong collaboration across U.S. and Japan teams
Location & Working Conditions
Based on the U.S. West Coast (required)
Hybrid or remote-friendly
Open to working regular hours of 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM PT to maintain meaningful daily overlap with the Japan-based Platform Core team (required)
Willingness to travel (~15%), primarily to strengthen cross-regional collaboration and alignment
Why This Role Matters
As organizations scale globally, the challenge is not access to information—it is alignment on context, priorities, and intent.
This role ensures that:
The platform evolves in the right direction, focusing on what truly matters
The field operates with maximum leverage, building on the platform instead of around it
By synchronizing these two layers, you enable a system where speed and scalability reinforce each other, rather than compete.
Salary range: $120K - $200K