International Expansion Lead

Newfund; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Tin Can is seeking an International Expansion Lead to drive growth in new markets from day one. You will own demand, build local GTM, and coordinate with operations, legal, product, and engineering to launch across borders.

You’ll report to a co-founder and work with a team already deep in this effort. As you scale, you’ll convert early markets into a repeatable playbook, decide on resources, and maintain a global mindset with AI-enabled insights.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in growth, general management, or international expansion at a consumer business.
• Experience expanding into new countries with measurable results.
• Strong marketing instincts and GTM execution ability.
• Ownership mentality for P&L, growth, and customer experience.
• Fluency using AI as a multiplier with good judgment.
• Global mindset with sensitivity to localization.
• Low-ego and collaborative work style.

Responsibilities

• Own demand in our first international markets from day one.
• Build local go-to-market strategies and campaigns.
• Identify channels in each country and optimize quickly.
• Lead end-to-end operations with cross-functional teams.
• Quarterback country launches end-to-end.
• Turn first markets into a written playbook.
• Determine resourcing for short-term and scale.
• Keep leadership informed about progress and blockers.

Skills

Growth strategy

International expansion

General management

GTM planning

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

About Tin Can

Tin Can is building a safer, simpler way for kids to connect - without smartphones. We're creating screen-free, delightful devices and services that let families call the people who matter most, free from the noise of today's digital world.

We're building a bold, authentic, nostalgic, and kinda quirky brand that resonates with folks who want something simpler & better for their kids than the tech-infused lives we're currently living (and who have a sense of humor about it). As we gear up to reach more families both at home and abroad, we're looking to bring on an International Expansion Lead to help make it happen.

The Role

A kid in another country wants exactly what a kid here wants: to call their best friend without a smartphone in the way. Our first international markets are close to launch - devices are on their way, the compliance work is underway, the phones will work when they arrive. What we don't have is anyone whose whole job is making families over there want one.

That's this role. On day one you pick up growth in our first expansion markets. As those markets find their footing, you'll take full ownership of them - not just demand, but everything it takes to operate there. Every country after that is yours end to end. You'll report to one of our co-founders and work alongside the people already deep in this: ops on fulfillment and hardware, engineering on making the service work abroad, legal on the regulatory maze. Early on, success will look less like a brilliant strategy and more like a willingness to run through walls.

What You'll Do

• Own demand in our first international markets from day one, turning early traction into a base that compounds
• Build local go-to-market strategies and campaigns that make Tin Can land culturally, using some mix of your own two hands, partnering with our marketing teams, and outside resources
• Find the channels that actually work in each country - influencers, press, communities, paid, hollering at people from a street corner- and kill the ones that don't, quickly
• Grow into full ownership of those first markets, becoming the conductor that partners with fulfillment, support, compliance, product, engineering, and the rest of what it takes to operate there
• Quarterback every country launch after that end to end
• Turn the first markets into a written playbook, so the fifth country costs a fraction of what the first one did
• Determine what resourcing we need to be successful, both in the short-term and as international efforts scale.
• Keep the company honest about where international stands: what's working, what's stuck, and what you need

What We're Looking For

• Autonomy above all else. The first 6-9 months won't be won by a genius strategy; they'll be won by figuring out the top N things to test, and running at them as fast as you can.
• 6+ years in growth, general management, or international expansion at a consumer business-you've carried a number, not just written a plan
• You've led expansion into new countries and can speak to multiple versions of the problem: how do we sell more of these, how do we get them there, what needs to be different about the product/service and how we operate to succeed there?
• Real marketing instincts. This isn't a marketing role, but you'll live or die on GTM; you can partner closely with marketers and be dangerous enough to run something yourself when it comes to that
• An ownership mentality; you think about P&L, growth, and customer experience as one thing, and you're comfortable being the person accountable for the result
• Fluency using AI as a multiplier across research/analysis/execution, paired with the judgement to know when AI is not the solution.
• A global mindset; you know what doesn't translate, and you'd rather ask someone local than guess
• Low-ego and collaborative vibes; you share credit and pitch in on problems that aren't yours

Why Join Tin Can

• We're building tech that enriches childhood: We're on a quest to give kids a more analog childhood - one with real conversations, real connection, and way less screen time. No doomscrolling, data mining, or dopamine traps - just a simpler, better way for kids to stay in touch. This is a rare opportunity to build something that truly matters.
• You'll own a country, then the map: You'll take over our first markets while the launch is still warm, and every country after that is yours to open - in whatever order you can make the case for.
• Small, high-trust team: Every company says "team," but at Tin Can it means something different. We're a small, mission-driven group that genuinely has each other's backs - professionally and personally. You'll be joining a tight-knit crew where your ideas and instincts matter from day one.
• Room to explore, not just execute: You'll have the space to explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and shape a business that reflects our values of trust, simplicity, and care.

Compensation Range: $190K - $220K

What You'll Do

• Own demand in our first international markets from day one, turning early traction into a base that compounds
• Build local go-to-market strategies and campaigns that make Tin Can land culturally, using some mix of your own two hands, partnering with our marketing teams, and outside resources
• Find the channels that actually work in each country - influencers, press, communities, paid, hollering at people from a street corner-and kill the ones that don't, quickly
• Grow into full ownership of those first markets, becoming the conductor that partners with fulfillment, support, compliance, product, engineering, and the rest of what it takes to operate there
• Quarterback every country launch after that end to end
• Turn the first markets into a written playbook, so the fifth country costs a fraction of what the first one did
• Determine what resourcing we need to be successful, both in the short-term and as international efforts scale.
• Keep the company honest about where international stands: what's working, what's stuck, and what you need

What We're Looking For

• Autonomy above all else. The first 6-9 months won't be won by a genius strategy; they'll be won by figuring out the top N things to test, and running at them as fast as you can.
• 6+ years in growth, general management, or international expansion at a consumer business-you've carried a number, not just written a plan
• You've led expansion into new countries and can speak to multiple versions of the problem: how do we sell more of these, how do we get them there, what needs to be different about the product/service and how we operate to succeed there?
• Real marketing instincts. This isn't a marketing role, but you'll live or die on GTM; you can partner closely with marketers and be dangerous enough to run something yourself when it comes to that
• An ownership mentality; you think about P&L, growth, and customer experience as one thing, and you're comfortable being the person accountable for the result
• Fluency using AI as a multiplier across research/analysis/execution, paired with the judgement to know when AI is not the solution.
• A global mindset; you know what doesn't translate, and you'd rather ask someone local than guess
• Low-ego and collaborative vibes; you share credit and pitch in on problems that aren't yours

Why Join Tin Can

• We're building tech that enriches childhood: We're on a quest to give kids a more analog childhood - one with real conversations, real connection, and way less screen time. No doomscrolling, data mining, or dopamine traps - just a simpler, better way for kids to stay in touch. This is a rare opportunity to build something that truly matters.
• You'll own a country, then the map: You'll take over our first markets while the launch is still warm, and every country after that is yours to open - in whatever order you can make the case for.
• Small, high-trust team: Every company says "team," but at Tin Can it means something different. We're a small, mission-driven group that genuinely has each other's backs - professionally and personally. You'll be joining a tight-knit crew where your ideas and instincts matter from day one.
• Room to explore, not just execute: You'll have the space to explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and shape a business that reflects our values of trust, simplicity, and care.

Compensation Range: $190K - $220K