Localization Engineer

Snowflake
Tokyo
Career-pivot friendly

Who this role is best for

Best suited to mid-level software engineers with AI integration experience working in Tokyo, Japan, focusing on cross-functional collaboration and technical leadership in localization systems. Candidates must balance vendor management and platform development with strong bilingual communication.

Best fit for

  • Mid-level engineers with 5+ years of full-stack development and AI workflow integration experience
    — “5+ years of experience in software development working with one or more of the following languages
  • Individuals who have led technical projects involving LLM-based translation platforms
    — “Innovate localization strategy and lead complex technical projects across their entire lifecycle
  • Bilingual professionals with conversational English and Japanese for cross-team coordination
    — “Conversational level in both English and Japanese for daily cross-functional communication

Things to consider

  • Requires 5+ years of software development experience as a baseline qualification
    — “Minimum of a Bachelor's degree... 5+ years of experience in software development
  • Localization pipeline observability and QA frameworks demand technical depth beyond standard roles
    — “Establish comprehensive QA frameworks and provide ongoing technical support

How to stand out

  • Highlight LLM integration projects in your technical portfolio with specific platform examples
    — “Integrate LLMs into core workflows to drive process automation
  • Demonstrate vendor management success with metrics on cost optimization and quality benchmarks
    — “Manage vendor relationships, overseeing budget planning and ensuring high translation quality standards
  • Quantify impact of localization process improvements in previous roles
    — “continuously optimize processes
Pace · SteadyCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · TeamLevel · Mid Level

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • innovating localization strategy
  • designing and building full-stack AI translation platform
  • establishing comprehensive QA frameworks
Typical background
software development experiencesystem design and architecture

Skills & requirements

Required

Software DevelopmentSystem DesignAI Translation PlatformLLM IntegrationQA FrameworksVendor ManagementProject Management

Preferred

Llm-based TranslationLocalization StandardsAutomated Quality Assurance

Stack & domain

PythonJavaJavaScriptC++GoSystem DesignAI Translation PlatformLlmsSQLRelational DatabasesData Processing PipelinesLocalization StandardsTranslation Management SystemsAutomated Quality AssuranceCommunicationProject ManagementInterpersonal SkillsLocalizationTranslationSoftware Development

About the role

Original posting from Snowflake via Ashby

At Snowflake, we are powering the era of the agentic enterprise. To usher in this new era, we seek AI-native thinkers across every function who are energized by the opportunity to reinvent how they work. You don’t just use tools; you possess an innate curiosity, treating AI as a high-trust collaborator that is core to how you solve problems and accelerate your impact. We look for low-ego individuals who thrive in dynamic and fast-moving environments and move with an experimental mindset — who rapidly test emerging capabilities to discover simpler, more powerful ways to deliver results. At Snowflake, your role isn't just to execute a function, but to help redefine the future of how work gets done.

We are looking for a Localisation Engineer who can join our efforts in continuing to lead the industry in global localization and product translation in Tokyo, Japan.

Responsibilities:

  • Innovate localization strategy and lead complex technical projects across their entire lifecycle to continuously optimize processes.
  • Design, build, and maintain a full-stack AI translation platform, including scalable web applications, backend services, and data pipelines.
  • Integrate LLMs into core workflows to drive process automation, enhance content reuse, and support intelligent quality assurance.
  • Establish comprehensive QA frameworks and provide ongoing technical support to ensure the robustness, reliability, and observability of localization pipelines.
  • Manage vendor relationships, overseeing budget planning and ensuring high translation quality standards.
  • Be excellent and think big in building the solution-based approach to offer the best localization at Snowflake.

Required Qualifications:

  • Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related technical field or equivalent practical experience.
  • Strong fundamental computer science skills. Knowledge of algorithms and data structures.
  • 5+ years of experience in software development working with one or more of the following languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, Go.
  • Proven experience in system design and architecting scalable, high-availability web applications and backend services.
  • Familiarity with AI-assisted coding workflows (e.g., Cursor, Claude Code).
  • Effective interpersonal and communication skills, combined with a wealth of project management experience to drive complex cross-functional technical initiatives.
  • Conversational level in both English and Japanese for daily cross-functional communication.

Nice to have:

  • Hands-on experience building LLM workflows, prompt/context engineering, or multi-agent frameworks. Experience with LLM-based translation is a big plus.
  • Solid understanding of SQL, relational databases, and experience building efficient data processing pipelines.
  • Familiarity with localization standards (e.g., XLIFF), Translation Management Systems (TMS), or automated Quality Assurance (LQA) processes.
  • Experience engaging directly with end-users to gather actionable feedback and iterate on product features.

Snowflake is growing fast, and we’re scaling our team to help enable and accelerate our growth. We are looking for people who share our values, challenge ordinary thinking, and push the pace of innovation while building a future for themselves and Snowflake.

How do you want to make your impact?

For jobs located in the United States, please visit the job posting on the Snowflake Careers Site for salary and benefits information: careers.snowflake.com http://careers.snowflake.com

Source: Snowflake careers (Ashby)

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