Description
Hybrid Work Model
Job Summary
We are seeking a talented and motivated Associate Localization Manager to join our Localization team, part of Global Product Operations. In this role, you’ll manage SEGA of America’s internal team of linguists (translators and editors), develop/maintain localization pipelines, and collaborate with international stakeholders. You’ll have the opportunity to work across multiple studios and franchises including Persona, Yakuza/Like a Dragon, Puyo Puyo, and many of SEGA’s legacy IPs.
In this role, you’ll collaborate closely with translators, editors, localization service providers, producers, QA, and developers to ensure world-class quality, timely delivery, and success of localized products for worldwide audiences. This role reports to the Head of Localization.
This role follows a hybrid work model, with a mixture of in-office days at our Irvine office and work-from-home days.
Duties And Responsibilities
- Project Planning & Management: Work with producers on identifying and establishing a realistic localization timeline, assigning linguists as necessary.
- Vendor Management: Identify a project’s need for vendor support, estimate time and budgets needed, initiate workflows with various vendors, gauge ability/quality of new partners, and process invoices.
- Cross-Regional Communication: Collaborate with localization team at SEGA of Japan and SEGA of Europe, unify processes/pipelines, and create/share presentations on relevant topics.
- Cross-Departmental Support: Provide other teams with support from localization, either internally or with external vendor support.
- Budgeting & Forecasting: Provide and track localization budgets per project and forecast FY spending for finance team.
- Personnel Management: Develop linguist growth, promote paths of advancement, drive company goals on an individual level, and provide coaching for professional development.
- Other duties as assigned
- Working in-office is an essential function of this position. This requirement of face-to-face interaction is in place to ensure effective supervision, collaboration, and teamwork. In-office attendance is required for the following reasons:
- For effective supervision of employees and our work product, which includes ensuring all employees have the necessary oversight of their work and access to supervisory assistance, which includes meetings to review work product, deadlines, and status.
- To foster communication and collaboration among team members, which includes the following: allowing for spontaneous brainstorming sessions and exchanges of ideas, quick access to team members to enable collaborative problem-solving, and stronger cohesion among co-workers and within teams.
- To enhance the sharing of information necessary to effective job performance and product creation.
- To enhance understanding of our stakeholders’ work and business needs, facilitate a more seamless and organic workflow, and ultimately increase efficiency and successful outcomes.
Qualifications
Qualifications and Skills:
- 3+ years of localization project management, preferably in the video game industry.
- Strong understanding of localization standards, schedules, and workflows.
- Strong troubleshooting and analytical skills.
- Excellent communication and documentation skills.
- Detail-oriented and organized with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- In-depth knowledge of end-to-end localization workflows and pipelines. Ability to document best practices and frameworks.
- Excellent listener who thrives in a collaborative environment and is capable of communicating clearly and concisely with diverse team members (experience working with Japanese counterparts a plus).
- A commitment to holding the line on quality when it matters most, but the wisdom to give and take when needed to resolve differences between stakeholders.
Preferred Skills
- Experience with managing a mid-to-large sized team.
- Experience with CAT tools, especially memoQ.
- Experience with the voiceover recording pipeline, including working with VO studios, processing recorded audio, and implementation into game projects.
- Experience working with external localization vendors.
- Experience with budget allocation/forecasting.
- Familiarity with project management tools such as JIRA or Redmine.
- Familiarity with financial tools such as Kissflow.
- Experience with creative localization and transcreation in industries such as games, television, or film.
- An enthusiastic gamer or passion for games and localization is a plus.
- Bilingual (English/Japanese) is a plus but not required.
Travel Requirements
- Periodic travel to SEGA offices in Tokyo and London.