Senior Localization Manager – Product Operations & Global Expansion

OpenKrill; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Openkrill is seeking a Senior Localization Manager - Product Operations & Global Expansion to lead end-to-end localization for hardware and software, with a focus on the Japanese market. You will build scalable translation workflows and collaborate with Product, Design, Engineering, Legal, and Compliance to ensure regulatory alignment for fintech products.

The role requires hands-on experience with CAT tools (Smartling), Jira, i18n/l10n, and AI-assisted translation.

Qualifications

• Proven localization leadership across software and hardware.
• Experience localizing for the Japanese market; native or near-native fluency a plus.
• Fintech or regulated environments experience preferred.
• Strong i18n/l10n, LQA, and localization best practices knowledge.
• Hands-on with CAT tools or translation management systems and Jira.
• Practical use of LLMs and AI-assisted translation workflows.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end localization strategy for the Japanese market.
• Establish i18n/l10n guidelines and quality standards across Eng and Product.
• Manage localization schedules, budgets, and launch readiness globally.
• Oversee localization of hardware interfaces and apps; ensure regulatory compliance.
• Lead vendor selection, onboarding, KPIs, and cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with Marketing and GTM teams for localized materials.

Skills

Vendor management

Cross-functional collaboration

Localization program management

Japanese language proficiency

Regulated industry knowledge

Tools

Smartling

Jira

LMS/TMS integration

Job description

Senior Localization Manager - Product Operations & Global Expansion

Employment Type: Full-time interim position for an initial period of 3-6 months, with the possibility of extension.

The Senior Localization Manager will lead and scale global localization efforts across hardware and software products, with a specific focus on the Japanese market. This role will be responsible for adapting payment products and help center content for Japan, ensuring local compliance, linguistic accuracy, and culturally tailored user experiences.

The Senior Localization Manager will work closely with cross-functional teams to establish scalable translation workflows, manage vendor relationships, and ensure that hardware user interfaces, mobile apps, web dashboards, and customer-facing communications feel natively built for the Japanese market.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of translation best practices, experience with CAT tools such as Smartling and bug-tracking tools such as Jira, and practical experience using LLMs and AI-assisted translation. The role requires close collaboration with Product, Design, and Engineering on internationalization requirements, while partnering with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and local banking partners in a regulated financial environment.

Strong vendor management skills and the ability to clearly communicate complex localization, technical, and regulatory requirements are essential. Native or near-native Japanese fluency is a plus.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Program Management

• Define and execute the end-to-end localization strategy for the Japanese market.
• Establish internationalization (i18n) and localization (l10n) best practices, guidelines, and quality standards across Engineering and Product teams.
• Manage localization schedules, budgets, resource planning, and launch readiness across multiple geographic regions.

Product & Hardware Integration

• Oversee localization for hardware interfaces, ensuring font, layout, screen constraint, and character set compatibility on POS devices and payment hardware.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to integrate Localization Management Systems (LMS/TMS) into CI/CD pipelines for continuous, automated translation deployment.
• Ensure accurate translation and adaptation of complex financial workflows, including multi-currency transactions, tax calculations, localized invoicing formats, and payment regulatory disclosures.

Quality Assurance & Compliance

• Oversee linguistic quality assurance (LQA) and testing across physical hardware devices and digital platforms.
• Work with Legal, Compliance, and Risk teams to ensure localized content complies with regional financial regulations, data privacy laws, and local payment industry standards.
• Maintain comprehensive style guides, terminology glossaries, and translation memories (TM) specific to financial technology, SaaS operations, and hardware user interfaces.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Select, onboard, and manage external Language Service Providers (LSPs), freelance translators, and LQA testers.
• Track LSP performance and establish clear KPIs around translation accuracy, turnaround time, and cost efficiency.
• Collaborate with Marketing and regional go-to-market (GTM) teams to deliver localized marketing materials, merchant support documentation, and onboarding flows.

Requirements

• Proven experience managing end-to-end localization programs for software and digital products across multiple markets.
• Experience localizing products for the Japanese market; native or near-native Japanese fluency is a plus.
• Experience in fintech, payments, financial services, or other regulated industries is strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of internationalization (i18n), localization (l10n), linguistic quality assurance (LQA), and localization best practices.
• Hands-on experience with CAT tools or translation management systems, such as Smartling, and project-tracking tools such as Jira.
• Practical experience using LLMs and AI-assisted translation workflows.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Product, Design, Engineering, Legal, Compliance, and external localization vendors.
• Strong vendor management skills, including overseeing language service providers, quality metrics, timelines, and budgets.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, communicate technical requirements, and deliver high-quality localization within tight deadlines.
• Experience localizing hardware interfaces, mobile applications, web dashboards, or payment-related workflows is highly desirable.
• Availability to work full-time for an initial 3-6-month interim assignment, with the possibility of extension.