Product Manager

Your Rare Combination of Skills Could Transform Japan Travel Most ECommerce Product Managers understand data. Some speak Japanese. Almost none have both. If you're that rare person who can analyze a conversion funnel in GA4 and negotiate with Japanese rail partners in their language, keep reading. The Reality Check (Read This First) This role is NOT for you if: Your Japanese is conversational but not business-level Your PM experience is in B2B SaaS, enterprise software, or physical products You've never optimized an e-commerce checkout flow You think GA4 is "just another analytics tool" You prefer project management to product strategy This role IS for you if: You can run a business meeting in Japanese (not just order dinner) You've spent years obsessing over why customers abandon carts You know the difference between bounce rate and exit rate without Googling You've built conversion funnels, not just analyzed them You understand Japanese business culture (consensus-building, relationship-first communication) What You'll Actually Do Week 1-3: Become Our Detective Dive into our GA4 setup and immediately spot what's broken Interview customers who bought passes and those who didn't Map every click from Google search to booking confirmation Present findings that make us uncomfortable (in a good way) Month 2-3: Fix What's Bleeding Our conversion rate is 2%. Industry standard is 3-4%. Find the leaks. Work with our Polish dev team to implement quick wins Set up proper tracking so we stop flying blind Run your first A/B test and actually know if it worked Month 4-6: Build the Future Achieve Product-Market fit for JapanDen.com through user research and behavioral analysis Design the user journey for JapanDen.com (our content platform) Launch point-to-point ticket sales (our 2-3x revenue opportunity) Travel to Japan, sit with rail company partners, negotiate in Japanese Become the person both our UK team and Japanese suppliers trust Your Background Must Have (Non-Negotiable): Business-level Japanese - You've used it professionally, not just studied it 3-5 years as a Product Manager in consumer e-commerce (D2C or B2C) Hands-on GA4 experience - Custom events, conversion tracking, cohort analysis Proven conversion optimization - You can tell us percentage improvements you've driven E-commerce fundamentals - Product pages, checkout flows, cart abandonment strategies Product-Market fit expertise - User research, market analysis, and translating customer behavior into product strategy Nice to Have: Experience in travel/tourism/hospitality Technical background (can write basic SQL, understand APIs) Living in a timezone within 5 hours of UK (but not required) Experience working with Asian business partners Don't Need: CS degree or coding skills Previous team management experience Design skills (we have designers) Why This Isn't Another Corporate PM Role The Good: Autonomy - You'll own the product roadmap, not execute someone else's vision Impact - Your work affects millions of Japan travelers directly Growth - We're profitable and expanding, not fighting for runway Culture - 15 people globally, no corporate bureaucracy Flexibility - Truly remote, work your hours, judge by output not activity The Challenging: You'll be the analytics expert - Our current PM doesn't use GA4, you'll need to lead here Small team - No PM team to learn from, you'll need to be self-directed Multiple platforms - JRPass.com (established) and JapanDen.com (startup mode) Cultural bridge - Japanese partners expect relationship-building, UK team wants data and speed The Reality: You'll work with developers in Poland (4 people) Report to Managing Director (day-to-day) and Head of Product (relationships) Collaborate with growth marketer in Brazil Travel to Japan 2x yearly (we pay, this is work not vacation) Our Situation (Full Transparency) Where We Are: £30M+ annual revenue Record organic traffic post-COVID Conversion rate stuck at 2% (should be 3%+) Limited analytics sophistication (we know this is a problem) Where We're Going: Launch point-to-point tickets (doubles addressable market) Grow JapanDen.com into Japan's top travel authority site Expand into hotels and activities Potentially 2-3x revenue in 2-3 years What We Need: Someone who can figure out why our highest-ever traffic isn't converting, then fix it. Not theoretically - actually fix it with code changes, design tweaks, and A/B tests. Compensation & Benefits Salary: $50,000 - $70,000 USD annually (adjusted based on location) We pay competitively for your market, not London rates You'll likely earn more in purchasing power than UK-based equivalent Benefits: 20-25 days holiday + local public holidays Pension/retirement contribution Japan travel fully covered (2x yearly, 3-5 days each trip) Flexible working hours (core overlap with UK business hours) Home office stipend Professional development budget Why We're Being This Specific Honestly? We've interviewed 30+ candidates. Many speak Japanese. Many are claiming Japanese skills. Others are business development or marketing people, not ecommerce product managers. We need someone who actually fits this unusual profile: Japanese fluency + consumer e-commerce Product Mgr + analytics expertise + cultural bridge-building. If that's you - genuinely you, not close-enough-you - we want to talk. Our Team (15 People Globally) London: 5 admin team members + Managing Director Poland: 4 developers (your partners in building features) Brazil: Growth marketer + social media Current Head of Product: 15 years with company, manages supplier relationships You: The analytics-driven, customer-obsessed PM we need Three Final Thoughts: 1. On Japanese Language: If you're thinking "my Japanese is probably good enough" - it's not. This role requires daily business use. If you can't negotiate contract terms or explain complex analytics concepts in Japanese, this won't work. 2. On E-commerce Experience: B2B SaaS product management is different. Marketplace product management is different. We need someone who understands consumer purchase psychology, checkout optimization, and conversion funnels in retail contexts. 3. On Remote Work: We're not "remote-friendly" - we're remote-first. But we need overlap with UK business hours (roughly 9am-6pm GMT). Think about whether your timezone works before applying. Ready to Transform How Millions Experience Japan? This is a rare role for a rare person. If you have the unusual combination of skills we need, you'll have autonomy, impact, and growth opportunities most PMs don't get until much later in their careers. JRPass.com is the world's leading Japan Rail Pass provider, helping millions of travellers explore Japan affordably and authentically. We're a profitable, growing company with 15 years of track record, expanding from rail passes into the comprehensive Japan travel platform. We don't care where you're based, what degree you have, or whether you fit a traditional career path. We care that you can speak Japanese, optimize conversion funnels, and bridge two cultures. Everything else, we can teach.