Lead Product Manager

Remote OK - Worldwide
Full-time
June 22, 2023

Are you looking

To make meaningful changes at the fastest-growing tech company in Japan?
For a fair, highly flexible, inclusive working environment where anyone, regardless of their background, can make an impact?
To build the next bold idea in customer acquisition and revenue growth through conversational commerce technology
For a place where things are not just fast - but they happen now?

We Are Zeals - “Designing conversations. Driving conversions.”

Zeals is not another chatbot. Our automated chat solution and conversational technology change how consumers purchase or act online. Zeals converts customers who appear "unengaged" to become "valuable" through designed chat on Messaging Apps. Using AI-powered, human-designed conversation flows across chat platforms, Zeals enables brands to build personalized, automated conversations with their consumers and develop a deeper understanding of their preferences while creating a delightful, seamless shopping experience. Our last 3 years have been phenomenal. We have captured the heart of many businesses in Japan, with over 480 enterprises relying on our chat commerce offering to boost their mobile business.

The goal is simple: to “revolutionize hospitality on the Internet” by unlocking digital customer service experiences that were limited to physical stores previously.

Just Getting Started…

We have recently secured a Series E funding totaling $33.8M led by JIC Venture Growth Investments and Salesforce Ventures. We are ready to start our mission and expand our business beyond the Japanese market - LINK.

We’re looking for a small group of elite teams to build the foundation of our global expansion.

Your Typical Day with Us

Your mission as PdM is to build high-quality products that add value and high-performing teams that achieve team milestones. As a Senior PdM, you will play a critical role in achieving this mission by managing the Agile Release Train, which consists of multiple scrums and a value stream. Your day-to-day responsibilities will include:

Working in an agile environment alongside the engineering team to drive and execute project plans
Developing and communicating a clear strategy and tactics, multi-team roadmap, and milestones that align with the company's overall business objectives
Conducting market research, competitive analysis, and customer insights to identify opportunities for product innovation and improvement
Defining, prioritizing, and articulating detailed product requirements, user stories, and acceptance criteria for both functional and non-functional aspects of the product
Collaborating with engineering, design, marketing, sales, and support teams to ensure successful product development, launch, and ongoing enhancement
Managing and prioritizing the product backlog, balancing short-term deliverables with long-term strategic initiatives
Establishing and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and success metrics to measure product performance and inform decision-making
Acting as the primary product evangelist, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to communicate product value and gather feedback for continuous improvement
Mentoring and guiding junior or mid-level product managers and other team members, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence
Setting goals and evaluating the performance of junior or mid-level product managers

What You’ll Need

Business-level English proficiency
5+ years of experience in product management, preferably within the technology industry or a related field
Demonstrated success in leading the development and launch of innovative, customer-centric products
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to synthesize complex data and translate it into actionable insights
Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
Hands-on experience with scaling Agile methodologies (SAFe, LeSS, etc.), Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, etc.), and tools (JIRA, Confluence, etc.)
Proven ability to build and maintain strong relationships with cross-functional teams and stakeholders
A customer-first mindset, with a passion for creating delightful user experiences and a track record of advocating for the customer throughout the product development process
Demonstrated success in managing and nurturing junior or mid-level product managers to progress multiple teams
Leadership and decision-making skills for making strategy and milestones with VPoP, PdM, and Scrum Team
Ability to execute the plan with various teams, including developers, quality assurance, marketing, and sales

What Makes You Stand Out

Japanese language proficiency at a business or native level
Understanding of cultural differences
Experience in starting a business based on the philosophies of lean startup and agile mindset
Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field; an advanced degree (MBA or similar) is a plus
Knowledge and experience in chatbots, AI, marketing, and SaaS products
Proven experience in implementing and using the Scaled Agile Framework or a similar one in a large organization or on large-scale projects

Don’t just take our word for it

Zeals has received the LinkedIn Top Startups award twice in a row. We believe this is a testament to our growth and our ability to attract great talents–who could potentially be your colleague!

Ready to roll up our sleeves

We obsess over bringing hospitality to everyone–be it our customers or you! You’re an individual with unique needs. So, While we can’t attract you with ping-pong tables or all-you-can-drink espresso bars, we promise you a once-in-a-lifetime experience and co-workers that you can brag about to your friends, family, or anyone you meet the next time you go out for a party! . As an employer we are ready to roll-up our sleeves and change the status quo if it means to make your experience better!

Salary Range : Up to 12M (performance review every 6 months)
Performance review: twice a year
Holidays: 10 days paid holidays during the first year, weekends off, national holidays, summer and winter break.
Visa support: We sponsor visas for the right candidates. You can expect full visa support from our professional HR team.
Flexible working: Highly flexible, remote-first international organization

For Japanese residence: Work from anywhere, interim work from overseas, full flex time

Housing allowance (within 1.5KM away from office)
Club activity allowance
Shuffle Lunch allowance (Cross department lunch)
Zeals Bar (bi-weekly free flow beer party)

APPLY NOW ➜

Product

About Zeals

The #1 Japanese Conversational Commerce Solution.

ZEALS is not another chatbot. They are the #1 Japanese conversational commerce solution. Using AI-powered, human-designed conversation flows across chat platforms, ZEALS enables brands to build personalized, automated conversations with their consumers and develop a deeper understanding of their preferences while creating a delightful, seamless shopping experience.

Phenomenal Growth
Having nearly doubled revenue YOY the last few years, targeting a 290B TAM, ZEALS benefits from a strong product market fit, clear ROI tied to their solution, and high customer retention rates. With over 480+ enterprise companies currently using their product globally, including well-known brands like L’Oreal and Nissan, ZEALS is well positioned to capture market share and drive exponential growth both in the Japan and US market as their next target region. Investors have taken notice – they raised nearly $40M and were backed by Salesforce Ventures in May of 2022, and they are planning to use these funds to continue their aggressive investment in both technology and people.

ZEALS is Revolutionizing Hospitality on the Internet
ZEALS enables consumers to purchase and reserve products via a well-designed conversational experience. The goal is simple: to “revolutionize hospitality on the Internet,” unlocking digital customer service experiences that used to be limited to physical stores previously. By allowing customers to converse about their purchase before making it, purchase rates are increased by about 5 times, driving a 9.6% average conversion rate across 1.5 million monthly active users. ZEALS’ service is widely adopted across verticals including ecommerce/DTC, travel, cosmetics, fitness and fintech.

Won LinkedIn Top Startups Award Twice in a Row
ZEALS has received the LinkedIn Top Startups award twice in a row. They believe this is a testament to their growth and ability to attract great talents–who could potentially be your colleagues!

Opportunities to Socialize
ZEALS provide a club activity allowance, a “shuffle lunch” allowance for having cross-departmental lunches, and ZEALS Bar, free flowing beer party.

Japanese Language Policy
At ZEALS, the product and technology team members primarily speak English (dev-related discussions happen in English on Github or Slack). There might be occasional discussions in Japanese, but most Slack messages are in English (or both languages).

As for meetings, all dev-related discussions take place in English. Given the above, Japanese skills are not required for most positions in the Product & Technology departments. However, one unique aspect of ZEALS’ culture is the desire to increase teamwork and engage with each other, which is why many Japanese members are working on their English skills while many non-Japanese members also work to improve their Japanese skills.

In order to build a truly global team, ZEALS has many multilingual members that proactively support the rest of the team to ensure smooth communications.

Even outside of the Product & Technology departments, all important company-wide announcements are made in both English and Japanese. For example, hiring announcements, new product launches etc. are generally announced in both Japanese and English.

Also, simultaneous interpretation for presentations at large meetings and events is provided to ensure that everyone gets the information they need.
Paid Leave
- All Japanese public holidays off
- 10 days of PTO (awarded 3 months after joining)
- Summer Holidays, Year-end Holidays, Childcare Leave, Congratulations/Bereavement Leave
Benefits
Here are some examples of the benefits which full-time employees can receive:

💻 Loaned Laptops

🇯🇵 Translation Support (EN<>JP)

👶 Shorter Work Hours for Employees Taking Care of Children

👶 Parental Leave

👕 Flexible Dress Code

💜 Social Security / Insurance Benefits Included

🏥 Healthcare Insurance, Periodic Health Checks

💚 Pension Insurance

🚃 Commuter Reimbursement
Remote Work
Although ZEALS requires you to either be in or relocate to Japan, once you’re here, you can choose whether you work from home or in the office.
- Full-time employees in Japan can work from home or come to the office. Transportation reimbursement to and from the office is available and people living close to the office can receive a housing allowance.
- If you’re not based in Japan yet, you can work from overseas while we help you obtain a Japanese working visa.
Work style
ZEALS is flexible when it comes to working hours. They have core time from 1:00pm to 3:00pm JST, but otherwise you’re free to set up your day however you want to meet the monthly working hour requirements.
Values

FROM ZEAL

< Passion >
Good things come from giving it your all

BET ON PARADOX

< Unorthodox >
Never settle for the established norm

UNITED WILL

< Team >
Teamwork is the heart of achievement

Office

The ZEALS office is in the heart of Tokyo, situated in Meguro, near Gajoen, a famous hotel known for hospitality. You can work from the office at a desk as well as use small booths or meeting rooms. You can hook your laptop to large screens and sit in Ergohuman chairs. Lounge areas and standing tables are also available. Everyone is free to choose the work style that works best for them, either full-remote or in the office.