Freelance Japanese Translator

Human Made is a globally distributed company that helps organisations drive customer engagement, reinforce brand value and improve operations with digital solutions powered by Altis, our WordPress digital experience platform.

Over the past 10+ years, we’ve helped brands such as TechCrunch, CapGemini and USA Today build and deliver their digital strategies, transforming the way people interact with some of the most visited websites in the world. We have deep expertise and investment in using WordPress as a tool to create large-scale platforms, websites, and applications that drive transformational business value.

Freelancing at Human Made

Join Human Made as a freelancer and you’ll feel like part of the team. You’ll be working on interesting and complex projects, alongside some of the industry's top talent. We’re fully remote, and have been for over 10 years, so you can expect well established ways of working, and a vibrant online culture. 

We are looking for a Japanese translator to join our team on a freelance basis to support our APAC squad with:

Japanese Translator Responsibilities 

• Live interpretation during monthly client meetings (e.g. account calls + sprint plannings + sprint reviews), bridging communication between technical engineers and non-technical stakeholders
• Translation of emails, documentation, and slide decks (often reviewing or refining AI-translated drafts rather than translating from scratch)
• Clarifying meaning and intent across both languages, especially when communication involves technical or engineering concepts
• Proactively flagging ambiguous phrasing, unclear requirements, or communication gaps between teams.
• Supporting occasional ad hoc translation tasks from smaller Japanese Altis clients as well as potential Sales calls 

Workload & cadence

• Typically 1–2 scheduled calls per month in JST (usually afternoon, not morning)
• Asynchronous translation support throughout the month (varies, generally light load)
• While the work is done online, we might ask for in person support in Tokyo (not mandatory)

Requirements

• Professional knowledge of English - must understand concepts well enough to translate accurately so experience in interpreting for software, web companies etc. is a plus. 
• We also require a native Japanese speaker who is sensitive to Japanese communication norms to help bridge any cultural gaps and actively add value to our team. We appreciate and recommend autonomy in communicating with the clients. 
• The role is fully remote and flexible.
• This is a long-term ongoing freelance engagement rather than a fixed-term project. 

Benefits

You're going to be a freelance contractor. No employee benefits.