Japan SEO Country Lead

About the role

You will spearhead the SEO growth strategy for the Japanese market, moving beyond standard translations to build a localized, high-impact approach. This role requires a blend of strategic leadership and hands-on execution, as you will operate as a key partner to the Country Manager while contributing to global SEO initiatives within the Logged Out Experience group.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Define and execute a comprehensive SEO roadmap covering technical, content, and authority-building pillars.
• Build and manage a local team, including hiring, onboarding, and performance development.
• Act as the primary expert on the Japanese search landscape, including user intent, competitors, and emerging AI discovery trends.
• Collaborate with localization and design teams to ensure content resonates with local cultural nuances.
• Maintain technical standards such as site speed, indexation, structured data, and mobile optimization.
• Develop and track country-specific KPIs, reporting performance to stakeholders across international and central teams.
• Experiment with AI-driven search strategies, including optimization for LLMs and AI-generated answers.

Requirements

• Native proficiency in Japanese and business-level English.
• Proven experience managing SEO for large-scale websites with 500+ pages.
• Deep expertise across the three SEO pillars: technical, content, and authority building.
• Ability to work from the Tokyo office.
• Strong analytical skills with experience in reporting and data-driven decision-making.
• Demonstrated success in building and leading high-performing teams.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and work cross-functionally without direct authority.

Nice to have

• Experience with multi-year market expansion strategies.
• Expertise in mobile-first optimization.
• Background in hyper-growth startup environments.
• Familiarity with diverse multi-platform ecosystems beyond traditional search engines.

Skills & tools

• SEO & Analytics: Google Analytics, Search Console, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, Deepcrawl, Mode, Looker, Dragon Metrics.
• AI & Discovery: Experience with or interest in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.

Practical notes

• This role requires physical presence in the Tokyo office.
• You will be expected to act with high autonomy, solving blockers independently and scaling processes for the wider global organization.