Japanese Linguist (On-site with Client)

Keywords Studios is looking for a Japanese Linguist to join our Localization team. You will be assigned to one of our key clients and work at their Montreal studio. In this role, you will be the primary Japanese language expert for the client’s games.

You will build this expertise through hands-on translation of the client's titles, ensuring that every line of dialogue and gameplay text is perfectly localized. By being deeply embedded in the translation process, you will act as the final gatekeeper for the Japanese linguistic and cultural quality before the games reach the market.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Translation & Expertise: Translate the majority of the games’ content into Japanese, and become the expert on the titles’ tone, style, and terminology.
• Linguistic Gatekeeping: Proofread all Japanese texts to a world-class standard, ensuring total consistency across the project.
• Asset Ownership: Create and continually improve glossaries, manage terminology and create guidelines for Japanese.
• On-site Collaboration: Work at the client's office to provide immediate linguistic guidance and feedback.
• Quality Assurance: Perform and oversee Quality Assurance tasks, taking full responsibility for the final linguistic polish of the assignments, including fixing bugs reported by the testing teams.
• Process Improvement: Suggest workflow enhancements to help the client achieve optimal translation quality and efficiency.

Requirements

• Native-level Japanese proficiency.
• Location & Schedule: This role is based in Montreal.
• Initial Period: The first 3 months will be full-time (5 days a week) at the client's office to ensure you are fully integrated with the team and workflows.
• Hybrid Schedule: After the first 3 months, the role transitions to 2 days in-office and 3 days from home.
• Professional Experience: 
• Proven experience as a Japanese Linguist, ideally within the video games industry. 
• Experience working with CAT Tools, ideally MemoQ.
• Educational Background: Degree in Linguistics, Literature, or a related field.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills in both Japanese and English.
• Gaming Passion: Deep familiarity with the interactive entertainment space and a passion for gaming.
• Self-Motivation: Able to operate autonomously as the sole language expert in a fast-paced environment.
• Work Authorization: Must be legally eligible to work in Canada.

Benefits

• 2 weeks of vacation per year
• 5 personal paid days per year
• STM public transit discount
• Telus Health virtual care service
• Dialogue (Employee Assistance Program)
• Office perks, including free soft drinks, coffee, fruits, ice cream, and more
• Pathway to becoming a full‑time permanent employee upon successful completion of the fixed‑term period

※Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted due to the high volume of applications.

By providing your information in this application, you understand that we will collect and process your information in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. For more information, please see our Applicant Privacy Notice at  https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/applicant-privacy-notice/ .

• Role Information: EN
• Studio: Keywords Studios
• Location: Americas, Canada, Montreal
• Area of Work: Localization
• Service: Globalize
• Employment Type: Fixed-term, Full Time
• Working Pattern: Hybrid