Chief of Staff, Japan

Job description

ROLE HIGHLIGHTS: - Chief of Staff, Japan - Location: Tokyo, Japan - Department: ICEYE Japan - Reports to: CEO, ICEYE Japan - Employment type: Permanent - Workplace model: Office - Employment is subject to applicable security screening (incl. SUPO, where required) WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS: As Chief of Staff, you’ll become the strategic right hand to the Country Director of ICEYE Japan, turning executive priorities into coordinated action across sales, delivery, and government affairs. You’ll own the operating rhythm that keeps the Japan leadership team focused and accountable, and act as the connective tissue between local teams and ICEYE’s global functions in Finland. You’ll bridge Japanese business culture with a fast-moving international HQ, and drive high-stakes initiatives, from government tenders to market-entry projects, from first conversation through to delivery. This is a role building in one of ICEYE’s most strategically important markets. WHO WE ARE ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space. We deliver persistent monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth. ICEYE owns the world's largest and most advanced SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellite constellation. To our customers we provide intelligence with unmatched quality, latency and revisit times, in any weather, day or night. To governments who choose to operate their own constellation we provide this proven capability as a sovereign system. ICEYE-built constellations serve customers in defence and intelligence, environmental monitoring, insurance and emergency management. We enable fast decisions that contribute to a safer future. Founded and headquartered in Finland, ICEYE operates globally with over 1000 employees across Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. YOUR DAY-TO-DAY RESPONSIBILITIES - Partner with the Country Director to define ICEYE Japan’s strategic priorities, OKRs, and annual business plan, and run the leadership team’s operating rhythm, including meetings, quarterly business reviews, and HQ/board reporting. - Act as a trusted proxy for the Country Director on select internal and external matters, preparing briefing materials, decks, and talking points for executive, government, and customer engagements. - Connect Japan-based sales, program management, and technical teams with ICEYE’s global functions (product, engineering, legal, finance, communications), ensuring Japan’s priorities are represented in global planning. - Project-manage strategic initiatives, such as partnership launches, government tenders, and market-entry projects, from planning through execution. - Support engagement with Japanese government agencies, disaster-response bodies, insurance partners, and industry associations, and help manage relationships with local advisors and vendors. - Oversee office operations, budget tracking, and vendor/contract management for the Japan entity, in coordination with global finance and legal teams. - Support hiring, onboarding, and team-building as ICEYE Japan scales. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR Must haves: - 10+ years of experience in strategy consulting, business operations, chief of staff roles, investment banking, or similar high-performance environments. - Business fluency in Japanese and English, written and spoken, and comfortable operating in both languages in high-stakes settings. - Demonstrated experience working with or alongside senior executives, with strong judgement on prioritisation and confidentiality. - Excellent structured-thinking, project management, and executive communication skills (decks, memos, briefs). - Strong cross-cultural fluency, able to bridge Japanese business norms with an international, fast-moving HQ culture. - Comfortable with ambiguity and an ownership mentality typical of scale-up environments. Nice to haves: - Experience in aerospace, defence, geospatial/earth observation, insurance (particularly natural catastrophe/reinsurance), or government relations. - Prior experience in a startup/scale-up, or within a multinational’s Japan subsidiary. - Familiarity with Japanese government procurement processes and/or the disaster-management ecosystem. - MBA or equivalent advanced degree. APPLICATION PROCESS - TA Screen - Hiring Manager Screen - Mission Sales Director screening WORKING AT ICEYE At ICEYE, you’ll join a diverse and highly engaged team united by the ambition to make the impossible possible. As a global scale-up, we combine speed and ambition with the opportunity to take real ownership from day one. Your growth, wellbeing, and success are a priority, with continuous professional development, training opportunities, and a culture where collaboration is how we win. HOW WE WORK (OUR VALUES) Make the impossible possible: We set ambitious goals and stay calm under pressure. We bring grit, optimism, and ownership when things get hard, and we keep moving until we find a way. - Be curious: Go deep, ask questions, listen carefully, and think critically. Understand the “why” behind decisions. - See the big picture: Stay close to what’s happening across the company so you can make better decisions. Consider how your work affects others. - Drive effective teamwork: Create psychological safety, invite different perspectives, and build inclusive teams. There are no bad questions. - Act as one team: We win together. We match tasks to the right owner and stay agile as priorities shift. - Have fun: What we do matters—and it should be enjoyable. Celebrate progress, take pride in results, and share the wins. BENEFITS Our benefits are designed to support your health and wellbeing, at work and beyond. We keep improving them based on employee feedback, and offerings vary by location. Talent Acquisition will confirm what applies for this role and location during the process. OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION We want ICEYE to be a place where people can be themselves and do great work. Different backgrounds and perspectives make us stronger, which is why we work to create an environment where people feel included, respected, and able to speak up. Whatever your background, we want you to bring your authentic self to the table. We’re committed to fair, inclusive hiring and equal opportunity. Everyone is welcome to apply. If you need any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, tell us—we’ll do our best to help. Apply now to start your ICEYE journey, and help us continue to make the impossible possible together. Read more about ICEYE and working with us at iceye.com http://iceye.com.