International Expansion Lead

Tin Can; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Tin Can is seeking an International Expansion Lead to drive growth in our first international markets and own end-to-end operations as we scale globally. You will partner across fulfillment, hardware, legal, product, and engineering to launch new countries and build scalable playbooks.

Responsibilities include owning demand from day one, developing local GTM strategies, identifying effective channels, and turning early markets into repeatable growth.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in growth, general management, or international expansion at a consumer business with measurable results
• Proven track record of expanding into multiple countries and scaling operations
• Strong GTM instincts and ability to partner with marketing, sales, product, and operations
• Ownership mentality with P&L awareness and focus on customer experience
• Fluent use of AI as a multiplier for research, analysis, and execution, with good judgment on limits
• Global mindset and sensitivity to local nuances; willingness to ask locals when needed
• Low-ego, collaborative attitude with willingness to share credit and help across teams

Responsibilities

• Own demand in first international markets from day one and build a scalable base
• Develop local go-to-market strategies and campaigns aligned with Tin Can's brand
• Identify effective channels per country and optimize or drop underperforming ones
• Grow to full ownership of first markets, coordinating with fulfillment, support, compliance, product, and engineering
• Lead end-to-end country launches and document learnings to reduce future costs
• Create written playbooks from initial markets to speed up later expansions
• Assess resourcing needs short-term and as international efforts scale
• Maintain transparency about international progress, blockers, and needs

Skills

Growth leadership

International expansion

P&L mindset

Marketing GTM

AI fluency

Global mindset

Collaborative

Ownership mentality

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: whats working, whats 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.