Employment Type: Full-time
Team:

SmartNews is a leading global information and news discovery company dedicated to delivering quality information to the people who need it. Thanks to our unique machine-learning technology and relationships with more than 3,000 global publisher partners, we provide news that matters to millions of users.

Founded in 2012 in Tokyo, SmartNews also has offices in Palo Alto, New York, Beijing, and Singapore.

If you share our vision and are passionate about our mission, we encourage you to apply!

The Mission

The team actively partakes in our company's mission of "Delivering the world’s quality information to the people who need it" through our steadfast support of an uncompromising quality information ecosystem. Furthermore, by curating the most relevant advertisements for our users, we assist businesses in identifying their ideal clientele within our platform, thereby fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.

Your mission as a Product Manager is to support the development, optimization, and execution of advertising products and strategies that drive revenue growth while balancing user experience and advertiser needs. This role is critical in ensuring the team achieves its monetization goals by contributing to product initiatives, analyzing performance data, and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

What you will do

Product Support & Development:

• Assist senior product managers in building and refining advertising products, focusing on ad performance metrics (CTR, ROI, CPA, LTV) and user engagement.
• Help manage product backlogs by collaborating with cross-functional teams to gather requirements, define user stories, and prioritize tasks.
• Contribute to product testing and iteration cycles, ensuring features align with business goals and enhance product performance.

Data Analysis & Reporting:

• Monitor and analyze advertising performance metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and optimization.
• Generate regular reports on key product performance indicators such as ad effectiveness, revenue trends, and user engagement in the Japanese market.
• Help the team interpret market and campaign data to inform product decisions and strategies, providing insights on what’s driving success or areas for improvement.

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Communication:

• Work closely with engineering teams to ensure seamless execution of new features, bug fixes, and updates for ad products.
• Collaborate with marketing, sales, and customer success teams to ensure the product meets customer needs and expectations in the Japanese market.
• Provide product knowledge and guidance to internal teams, ensuring that everyone is aligned on the goals and deliverables of the product.

Market Research & Insights:

• Conduct market research to understand trends and customer needs in Japan’s digital advertising space, helping the product team stay ahead of competitive and regulatory changes.
• Assist in gathering customer feedback through surveys, user interviews, and data analysis to guide product development.
• Stay updated on the latest digital marketing strategies, tools, and ad technologies relevant to the Japanese market to ensure the product’s competitive edge.

Feature and Roadmap Support:

• Assist in the development and refinement of the product roadmap, helping to prioritize features based on performance data, market needs, and business goals.
• Help in defining KPIs for product features, ensuring they align with business objectives and support the overall revenue growth strategy.
• Participate in sprint planning and product development cycles, supporting the execution of product features from ideation to launch.

Localization & Regional Focus:

• Ensure that ad products are localized effectively for the Japanese market, considering local preferences, language, and compliance with regional regulations.
• Assist in customizing ad products to meet the unique needs of the Japanese market, including working with local teams to implement region-specific features and optimizations.

Requirements

Minimum requirements

• Experience: At least 3 years of experience in digital advertising, product management, or performance marketing. Experience in the Japanese market or familiarity with Japan’s digital marketing ecosystem is highly desirable.
• Analytical Mindset: Strong analytical skills, with experience using data tools (such as Excel, Google Analytics, or internal data platforms) to evaluate product performance and derive actionable insights.
• Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both English and Japanese, as the role requires interaction with local teams and international stakeholders.
• Technical Familiarity: Basic understanding of product development processes, including user story writing, agile methodologies, and technical constraints. Familiarity with ad tech tools and platforms is a plus.
• Collaboration: Strong team player who can collaborate effectively with engineering, design, marketing, and sales teams.
• Adaptability: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and handle multiple tasks while maintaining attention to detail and quality.

Nice to have experiences/skills

• Experience of engineering
• Experience of ad-sales
• SQL skill

Working condition

• Office Location: Tokyo

Click here or visit our careers site for more info.

Benefits

• Annual health check covered by the company 
• Visa sponsorship and overseas relocation support available for eligible candidates

Click here or visit our careers site for more info about our benefits.