
Senior Bilingual Software Engineer – West Coast (U.S.)
Tailor
Job description
Overview
We are seeking a highly capable
Senior Bilingual Software Engineer
to serve as the connective layer between our
Forward-Deployed U.S. teams
and our
Platform Core Engineering team in Japan
.
This role reports directly to the
CTO
, reflecting its strategic importance in aligning product direction, platform evolution, and field execution.
This role is not about language translation. In an AI-enabled environment, its core responsibility is
context alignment and leverage maximization
—ensuring both teams operate with a shared understanding of priorities, constraints, urgency, and intent.
You Will Play a Critical Role In Making Sure
-
The Platform Core team focuses on the highest-impact problems, grounded in real-world usage
-
The Forward-Deployed teams extract maximum value from the platform, leveraging it effectively and correctly
This is a high-impact role at the center of a two-speed organization: fast-moving field execution and a scalable, reusable platform.
Key Responsibilities
-
Act as the primary interface between Forward-Deployed U.S. teams and the Platform Core team in Japan, driving deep, bidirectional context alignment
-
Continuously synthesize and communicate what is happening on the ground—including priorities, urgency, constraints, and team sentiment (“temperature”)
-
Translate not just requirements, but intent, trade-offs, and decision rationale across both sides
-
Influence platform roadmap and product strategy by ensuring decisions are grounded in real-world usage, high-impact opportunities, and evolving field needs
-
Ensure the Platform Core team is working on the highest-value problems, with clear prioritization informed by field context
-
Ensure Forward-Deployed teams fully leverage the platform, including understanding its capabilities, constraints, and intended design patterns
-
Drive cross-regional program execution, including:
-
Defining and maintaining clear priorities, milestones, and success criteria across teams
-
Managing dependencies, risks, and trade-offs between Forward-Deployed and Platform Core workstreams
-
Establishing and enforcing execution cadence (planning, check-ins, reviews) across time zones
-
Ensuring accountability and follow-through on key initiatives
-
Facilitate technical discussions, design reviews, and prioritization decisions across regions
-
Improve internal systems for global collaboration, including documentation, communication cadence, and decision-making frameworks
Qualifications
Required
-
Near-native proficiency in both English and Japanese, capable of conveying nuanced context such as priorities, urgency, assumptions, and technical trade-offs.
-
7+ years of experience in software engineering, with strong exposure to system design and real-world implementation
-
4+ years of prior experience operating as a Software Engineer within a U.S.-based organization, where English was the primary language for technical discussions, design reviews, and deliverables, both orally and in writing.
-
Strong understanding of modern software architecture (APIs, backend systems, data models)
-
Proven ability to operate across product, engineering, and implementation contexts
-
Experience working with distributed or cross-border teams
-
Strong communication skills with the ability to convey nuanced context, not just information
Preferred
-
Experience in platform engineering or building extensible systems
-
Familiarity with ERP, supply chain systems, or complex business applications
-
Experience with SaaS integrations or composable/headless architectures
-
Background in solution architecture or technical program management
-
Experience in a startup or high-growth environment
-
Experience or familiarity with modern systems programming languages (e.g., Go, Rust) and/or TypeScript, aligning with the Platform Core team's current or evolving technology stack.
What Success Looks Like
-
The Platform Core team consistently prioritizes high-impact work aligned with real field needs
-
Forward-Deployed teams maximize leverage from the platform, minimizing unnecessary custom work
-
Reduced rework and friction caused by misalignment in priorities, assumptions, or timing
-
Clear and shared understanding of technical trade-offs and decision rationale across both teams
-
Faster feedback loops between field execution and platform evolution
-
High trust and strong collaboration across U.S. and Japan teams
Location & Working Conditions
-
Based on the U.S. West Coast (required)
-
Hybrid or remote-friendly
-
Open to working regular hours of 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM PT to maintain meaningful daily overlap with the Japan-based Platform Core team (required)
-
Willingness to travel (~15%), primarily to strengthen cross-regional collaboration and alignment
Why This Role Matters
As organizations scale globally, the challenge is not access to information—it is
alignment on context, priorities, and intent
.
This Role Ensures That
-
The platform evolves in the right direction, focusing on what truly matters
-
The field operates with maximum leverage, building on the platform instead of around it
By synchronizing these two layers, you enable a system where
speed and scalability reinforce each other
, rather than compete.
Salary range:
$120K - $200K