Account Executive - Japan

Job description

ABOUT US Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. Learning a language can change a life by opening doors to new cultures, careers, and communities. Two billion people around the world are actively trying to learn a language, but the best way to learn (one-on-one tutoring) is hard to access at scale and hasn’t been meaningfully improved in decades. Speak is building a human-level, AI-powered tutor in your pocket: a conversation-first experience that lets learners actually speak, get instant feedback, and progress through carefully designed lessons. The result is a complete path from beginner to confident speaker across multiple languages. Speak first launched in South Korea in 2019, where Speak has now become the number one language learning app, and we now serve learners across many markets and 15+ languages. Speak is one of the world’s leading AI companies, with over $150m raised in venture investment from OpenAI, Accel, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and more, with a distributed team across San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana. Speak for Business (S4B) is Speak's enterprise arm — a holistic solution that helps employees get comfortable speaking the languages their business success depends on. We've already grown S4B to hundreds of logos globally, with our deepest footprint in Korea and Japan, and we're now investing heavily across Engineering, Product, Content, and Go-to-Market to make B2B one of Speak's biggest growth engines. It's a rare 0-to-1 moment inside a company that's already scaled — and the AE we hire will help shape it. To learn more, check out our B2B landing page https://www.speak.com/jp/b2b. We're looking for an Account Executive in Japan to drive new ARR with our B2B customers. You'll own the full cycle — targeting, building relationships with executive decision-makers, and closing complex enterprise deals across the Speak suite. This is a rare chance to accelerate your career in AI, join the founding team of Speak Japan's B2B effort, and partner closely with the dedicated Engineering, Product, Content, and CS teams we've already built for S4B. This is a full-time, hybrid role based in our Tokyo (Shibuya) office. WHAT YOU'LL DO AT SPEAK: - Build a territory plan and own a pipeline of enterprise accounts from inbound and outbound activity to consistently exceed quota - Run disciplined discovery and value-selling with executive buyers to drive new ARR and expansion - Develop account plans that map company priorities, multi-thread at the senior level, and surface expansion paths - Partner cross-functionally with CSMs, SDRs, Marketing, and Product to position Speak and move deals forward - Strengthen executive relationships through in-person meetings and networking - Read market signals, adapt strategy, and contribute to how the sales motion evolves - Communicate fluently in business English with Speak's global team day-to-day WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU HAVE: - 5+ years closing new and upsell business in HR, L&D, or adjacent B2B SaaS, especially selling to companies with 5,000+ FTEs - A consistent track record of generating your own pipeline and hitting net-new targets - Experience managing complex 3–12 month sales cycles end-to-end (outbound, SDR alignment, trials, business cases, proposals, negotiation, upsell) - A clear sales methodology that creates value for customers - Familiarity with modern AI sales tech stack tools WHILE IT'S NOT REQUIRED, IT'S AN ADDED PLUS IF YOU ALSO HAVE: - EdTech or language learning sales experience to HR / L&D / Talent buyers - A track record of thriving in fast-changing environments - Proven land-and-expand experience WHY WORK AT SPEAK 1. Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company. 2. Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply. 3. Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, Tokyo, and Taipei, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel. 4. Impact people's lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives. Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.