CONTRACT - Localization Specialist (Japanese)

8 Months ago • 1-3 Years • Localization

Job Summary

Job Description

This contract position requires a Localization Specialist (Japanese) to translate and review game text, voice scripts, marketing materials, and other documents for Nintendo products. Responsibilities include gaining a deep understanding of projects, communicating developer intent, providing cultural input, collaborating with internal/external partners, ensuring high-quality localization, and potentially contributing to marketing efforts. The role demands strong translation and interpreting skills, familiarity with Japanese culture, and experience with localization tools. The candidate will work with experienced staff, participate in feedback sessions, and potentially assist in the hiring process.
Must have:
  • 1-3 years localization experience
  • Strong Japanese translation & interpreting skills
  • Understanding of Japanese & US market preferences
  • Excellent communication & organizational skills
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite
Good to have:
  • Knowledge of game development process
  • Familiarity with Nintendo franchises
  • Experience with localization tools (CAT tools)
  • Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1
  • Familiarity with Slack, Jira, and Confluence
Perks:
  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • 401(k)
  • Life and AD&D insurance
  • Paid sick leave
  • Paid holidays

Job Details

 
Nintendo of America Inc.
 

About Nintendo of America: From the launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System™ more than 30 years ago, Nintendo’s mission has been to create smiles through unique entertainment experiences. Here at Nintendo of America Inc., we deliver on this mission by partnering closely with Nintendo Co., Ltd., to bring Nintendo’s iconic and cherished franchises including Mario™, Donkey Kong™, The Legend of Zelda™, Metroid™, Animal Crossing™, Pikmin™ and Splatoon™ across the Americas through our video games, hardware systems, and collaborations with partners on a range of other entertainment initiatives like feature films and theme parks.
  
Based in Redmond, Wash., Nintendo of America serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Americas. We are an equal opportunity employer offering a welcoming and inclusive environment in service to one another, our products, and the diverse consumers and communities we call home. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at . 

 
 
** This is a CONTRACT position
 
DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES:
  • LOCALIZATION
    • Translates and reviews game text, voice scripts, marketing materials, and supplementary development and
    • testing-related documents and materials as required to support Nintendo products and services through
    • launch and beyond.
    • Gains a deep understanding of assigned projects through hands-on game play, study of game
    • specifications, and collaboration with other team members.
    • Leverages expert knowledge of project to clearly communicate developer intent and enhance the user
    • experience through clear and well-translated text.
    • Provides cultural and creative input regarding localizing Nintendo products for the Americas.
    • Informs management in a timely manner regarding development schedule challenges, changes, and
    • delays.
    • Participates in table reads and other group feedback sessions.
    • Works with experienced staff and mentors to hone localization skills to follow Nintendo style for a variety of
    • franchises.
    • May communicate with first- and second-party developers regarding Nintendo product localization.
    • Builds and enhances relationships with Nintendo Company Limited (NCL) creative and development
    • partners.
    • May contribute to the naming process for game terms.
    • May assist with the planning and preparation for voice recording sessions.
    • Innovates and finds efficiencies in the localization process.
    • Collaborates closely with internal and external partners, especially testing resources, to ensure high quality
    • of localization.
    • May test and evaluate games and products and provide feedback regarding design and content for NOA
    • (Nintendo of America) territories.
    • May act as a product subject matter expert to assist other NOA (Nintendo of America) departments with
    • game-related support, including demonstrating games internally and capturing video and screenshots.
    • May collaborate with localization staff at NOE (Nintendo of Europe) to achieve alignment when necessary
    • by creating process efficiencies and leveraging resources.
    • May review machine translation, text from outsourcing and global partners for accuracy and consistency.
    • May review products for Legal and ESRB compliance and make recommendations for changes based on
    • target audience/business need.
    • May participate in content discussions and game evaluations and make recommendations on what games
    • are brought to market.
    • May provide guidance to improve overall game play, presentation, and user experience for product release
    • in the Americas.
    • Maintains awareness of culturalization topics, may identify issues and propose solutions as needed.
    • May act as liaison for NCL and development partners, including translating communication on behalf of
    • NOA.
    • May perform translation and interpreting for other departments and subsidiaries as required.
    • Interprets meetings, telephone calls, and video conferences related to game development and localization
    • and works to improve and maintain these skills.
    • May participate in the hiring process by participating in interviews.
    • May provide feedback on machine translation and other tools.
  • MARKETING
    • May interpret media interviews with developers.
    • Communicates product strengths, features, and differentiation points to upper management, Marketing,
    • and other internal stakeholders.
    • Reviews and evaluates product concepts and designs for acquisition, participates in planning marketing
    • strategies, provides input into the development of marketing materials, and/or coordinates resources.
    • Generates game-related content for websites, social media, and other consumer-facing portals.
    • May demonstrate games to media, participate in interviews, present on live streams, and support other
    • promotional efforts.
 

 
SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS:
  • One to three years of localization experience.
  • Knowledge and understanding of localization issues and market preferences recommended.
  • Ability to make recommendations regarding cultural/localization issues affecting software products.
  • Ability to grasp and preserve the creative vision of products during the localization process.
  • Knowledge of the game-development process helpful.
  • Experience producing high-quality results under tight deadlines.
  • Experience working with global teams helpful.
  • Familiarity with Nintendo franchises, products, and history.
  • Familiarity with historical and current video game industry for console, PC, and mobile markets preferred.
  • Strong communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
  • Proficient with Microsoft Office suite and ability to quickly become proficient with complex proprietary software.
  • Familiarity with Slack, Jira, and Confluence.
  • Familiarity with how tags work in programming languages preferred.
  • Ability to work in a highly confidential environment.
  • JAPANESE-BILINGUAL SPECIFIC:
    • Strong translation skills required.
    • Strong interpreting skills, including experience interpreting business meetings and/or conference calls.
    • Awareness and understanding of Japanese and US localization issues and market preferences
      recommended.
    • Familiarity with Japanese history, culture, customs and business protocol.
    • Familiarity with localization/CAT tools like translation memory, machine translation, and parsing tools, as
      well as content management systems preferred.
    • Undergraduate degree in Japanese, East Asian Studies, Linguistics, Translation, a related field, or
      equivalent experience.
    • Level 1 certification on the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test or equivalent in English if native Japanese
      speaker.
  • Requires basic knowledge of theories, principles and concepts within a job family; has exposure to current
    practices and procedures through coursework or internship.
  • Valid passport may be required.

     
 
  Applicants must be legally eligible to work in the United States to be considered. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.
  

** This is a CONTRACT position 

  

This position is hybrid in Redmond, WA. Hybrid positions require regular onsite work following the schedule and guidelines for their division. This position is not open to fully remote status at this time. 

  

This contract position has a base pay range of $29.40 - $44.10 per hour and is eligible for benefits through the employing agency. Agency benefits may include medical, dental and vision, 401(k), basic/supplemental life and AD&D insurance, short- and long-term disability insurance, health and dependent care spending accounts, transportation benefits, employee assistance program, paid sick leave, and up to 6 paid holidays per year. All benefits are subject to elections, eligibility requirements, plan and program terms. Benefits offerings will be confirmed at the time of offer by the employing agency, and may differ depending on the employing agency partner.

   
 
#LI-Hybrid

JOB DATE: October 23, 2024

Similar Jobs

Philips - Account Manager (m/w/d) Hospital Patient Monitoring

Philips

Germany (On-Site)
1 Month ago
SSC Technologies - Associate Director, Fund Accounting

SSC Technologies

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (Hybrid)
2 Months ago
Yodlee - Solutions Consulting Director

Yodlee

Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (Remote)
1 Month ago
BioFire - Maintenance Tech 3-Day Shift

BioFire

Durham, North Carolina, United States (On-Site)
2 Weeks ago
Tesla - Facilities Coordinator, Facility – South

Tesla

Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal (On-Site)
5 Months ago
Nintendo - Technical Localization Specialist (NTD)

Nintendo

Redmond, Washington, United States (On-Site)
1 Year ago
Nintendo - Associate Localization Specialist (Japanese)

Nintendo

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)
6 Months ago
Lionbridge Games - Localization Game Tester

Lionbridge Games

Berlin, Berlin, Germany (On-Site)
1 Year ago
GlobalStep - Localization Video game Tester (LQA – German)

GlobalStep

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (On-Site)
2 Months ago
pentair - Pool Bilingual Consumer Support Representative

pentair

Phoenix, Arizona, United States (Hybrid)
2 Weeks ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Similar Skill Jobs

Granicus - Project Manager, Digital Services

Granicus

Canada (Remote)
2 Months ago
Keywords Studios - Player Support Agent - German/English

Keywords Studios

Silesian Voivodeship, Poland (Hybrid)
4 Months ago
Ruselle Investments - Implementation Analyst

Ruselle Investments

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (On-Site)
2 Weeks ago
2K - Localization Lead - German

2K

Madrid, Community Of Madrid, Spain (Hybrid)
1 Week ago
CGS Carrers - Payment Operations Lead

CGS Carrers

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India (Remote)
3 Weeks ago
MiQ - Account Manager

MiQ

New York, New York, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Unity - Senior Tax Analyst

Unity

Copenhagen, Denmark (On-Site)
1 Month ago
onwards Search - Intune Administrator

onwards Search

Jacksonville, Florida, United States (Hybrid)
2 Weeks ago
Veeam Software - Customer Success Representative

Veeam Software

Alpharetta, Georgia, United States (Hybrid)
2 Months ago
CGS Carrers - Product Owner II

CGS Carrers

India (Remote)
1 Year ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Jobs in Redmond, Washington, United States

Apple - Senior SerDes System Validation Engineer

Apple

San Diego, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Electronic Arts - Program Manager, Player Inclusion

Electronic Arts

Redwood City, California, United States (Hybrid)
2 Weeks ago
Apple - Software Asset Manager- Hardware Engineering Operations

Apple

Austin, Texas, United States (On-Site)
2 Months ago
OKX - Senior Financial Analyst

OKX

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
2 Months ago
Perplexity - Head of Enterprise Operations and Systems

Perplexity

New York, New York, United States (On-Site)
2 Weeks ago
Gearbox - Visual Effects Artist

Gearbox

Frisco, Texas, United States (On-Site)
2 Months ago
Riot Games - Software Engineer III, Performance - Unpublished R&D Product

Riot Games

Los Angeles, California, United States (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Nagarro - Associate Engineer, Tech support

Nagarro

New York, United States (On-Site)
9 Months ago
GHX - Inventory Specialist

GHX

Jacksonville, Florida, United States (On-Site)
3 Months ago
Snorkel AI - Staff Applied AI Engineer

Snorkel AI

Redwood City, California, United States (Hybrid)
1 Month ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

Localization Jobs

Lilt - Simplified Chinese Financial Translator

Lilt

Beijing, China (Remote)
5 Months ago
Snail Games - Bilingual Game Scout (English/Spanish)

Snail Games

Beverly Hills, California, United States (On-Site)
9 Months ago
2K - Game Localization Specialist (Traditional Chinese)

2K

Tokyo, Japan (On-Site)
1 Week ago
Hitachi - Project Manager + Japanese Language Professional Translator

Hitachi

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India (On-Site)
9 Months ago
Nintendo - Localization Editor

Nintendo

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)
3 Months ago
TransPerfect - German Localization Games Tester

TransPerfect

Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland (On-Site)
1 Month ago
Inlingo games - Translator Internship

Inlingo games

(On-Site)
4 Weeks ago
Nintendo - Sr Technical Localization Specialist

Nintendo

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)
4 Months ago
Toast - Mandarin Bilingual Emerging Markets Account Executive

Toast

Phoenix, Arizona, United States (Hybrid)
4 Weeks ago
SBM Management - Bilingual HR Staffing Specialist

SBM Management

Monee, Illinois, United States (On-Site)
2 Months ago

Get notifed when new similar jobs are uploaded

About The Company

Redmond, Washington, United States (On-Site)

Redmond, Washington, United States (On-Site)

Redmond, Washington, United States (On-Site)

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)

Redmond, Washington, United States (On-Site)

Redmond, Washington, United States (On-Site)

Redmond, Washington, United States (Hybrid)

View All Jobs

Get notified when new jobs are added by Nintendo

Level Up Your Career in Game Development!

Transform Your Passion into Profession with Our Comprehensive Courses for Aspiring Game Developers.

Job Common Plug