Staff Fullstack Engineer (35M JPY, Business E/J needed, first engineer in Japan)

Company Description

This is a rare 0-1 engineering opportunity to lead the Japan market entry for a major global consumer commerce platform without sacrificing the financial stability of a later-stage company. The company operates a highly successful B2C product in Western markets and is now establishing its first dedicated engineering pod in Tokyo. They are investing heavily in localizing their product for the Japanese market, focusing on unique payment, logistics, and user experience integrations. This is a hybrid role based in Tokyo, requiring strong communication skills in both Japanese and English to bridge local business needs with global engineering teams, offering a total compensation of up to 35M JPY / annum.

Why Apply Through Build+

We are the only agency that is working on this position.

Also, if you happened to apply directly you would be added to a pile of CVs for their internal recruiter to sort through, and even if you are successful in passing that, you would do an initial HR screening.

Through us, you would skip this step entirely and speak directly to the hiring manager first.

We have placed half their office here in Japan and meet them weekly.

Position Description

You will act as the foundational technical leader for the Japan market, partnering directly with the country leadership to define the technical roadmap and execute on critical product initiatives. Working across the full stack, you will design and ship localized features for users while ensuring new architecture aligns with global engineering standards. Though you will not manage direct reports initially, you will set the technical direction, patterns, and quality bar for future engineering hires as the local organization scales.

Ideal Candidate

• 9+ years of professional software engineering experience, preferably within high-growth product environments

• Strong full-stack technical capability, especially in Python

• Demonstrated experience acting as a technical lead, driving architecture and project alignment without requiring direct management authority

• Business-level or higher proficiency in both Japanese and English to collaborate effectively with local and global stakeholders

Why Join?

+ Ownership: Serve as the foundational technical leader for a major market entry, setting the architecture and engineering culture from day one

+ Impact: Build 0-1 localized features for a massive B2C product with a direct line to business outcomes

+ Compensation: Competitive salary for the Japanese market

+ Flexibility: Hybrid style working in central Tokyo