Associate Managing Translator
Job Description
Please include a cover letter with your application, and email your resume to
[email protected] with the subject line “Application for Associate Managing Translator.”
Summary:
J-Novel Club (a division of M12 Media LLC) is seeking a passionate translator and localizer to join our dynamic team as Associate Managing Translator. The Associate Managing Translator will help work with our vast freelance translation staff, hiring freelance translators and checking to ensure high quality in our publications delivered in a timely manner, matching the schedules set out by the project management team. They will work closely with our Managing Editor, reporting to them. They should have a firm understanding of scheduling out work and an enthusiasm for manga, comics or light novel culture, plus excitement around working in a digital publishing space. They will assist with new projects such as the Original English Light Novel contest, communicating with Japanese illustrators to help commission art, and with new projects, such as Kakuyomu Next, liaising with Japanese staffers on the Kadokawa side. JNC produces over 400 books a year, digital and print, focusing on light novels and manga. This is intended as a full-time position with a start date late January 2026 to early February 2026.
Responsibilities
- Evaluate freelance translator job performance
- Conduct regular reviews and work directly with freelance translators to maintain and improve translation quality
- Provide guidance and coaching with regard to in-house style, as well as the logistical expectations of the company’s workflow
- Uphold company-wide quality standards and guidelines for language and help maintain repeatability and reproducibility of translation quality
- Successfully mediate creative disputes between translators and editors with the help of the Managing Editor
- Stay abreast of local linguistic trends and listen to the voice of the customer
- Recruit new freelance translators, screening applicants, grading written tests, and conducting interviews
- Propose actionable plans to improve quality, efficiency, and speed
- Assign freelance translators to new projects, collecting and evaluating work samples in the process
- Monitor time and resources for assigned projects
- Translate creative design documentation from English to Japanese
- Help hire Japanese illustrators for OLN projects
- Help with new projects assigned by Kadokawa, such as Kakuyomu Next
- Employ corrections to translations that require backporting after review
- Create temporary titles and write short summaries in English for new series we license
- Perform other duties as assigned by senior management as necessary
Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree or higher, with a preference for a degree in Japanese, Translation, Linguistics or related field.
- Relevant/equivalent experience to the above is considered on par.
- Ability to effectively communicate in English.
- Ability to read, write, and speak in Japanese - native to functionally fluent
- You may be asked to pass our JNC translation test as part of the interview.)
- Working knowledge of and interest in light novels, manga, and publishing
- Sound knowledge of translation, localization, and terminology management workflows and tools
- Demonstrated cross-team collaboration skills and ability to work across multiple groups and teams internationally
- Ability to multi-task, meet deadlines and client schedules, and attention to detail
- Excellent communication skills, both spoken and written, required
- Working knowledge of Google Suite
We Offer
- A remote-first, flexible work environment that respects your work-life balance.
- The opportunity to travel to major fan events.
- Full-time US employees (only) can opt-into Health, Dental, Vision, and Life, and other insurances.
- Opt-in employee benefits such as pet insurance, spousal insurance, HAS, FSA, and access to discounts are also available to full-time employees via our HR hub, TriNet for US Employees.
- Open to applicants from all geographical locations (must be fully fluent in English)
- Generous vacation policy: 11 paid holidays off company-wide, and the ability to accrue 12 vacation days per annum, with up to 18 unused days allowed with rollover.
- Sick pay & accommodations.
About J-Novel Club
At J-Novel Club, you’ll be joining a team that cares about great stories and the people who read them. You’ll be part of a passionate, international group of pros that value collaboration, growth, big ideas, and you’ll get to work with some of the best localized content in North America. It’s a varied role, across eBooks, Print books, Audiobooks, and more!
J-Novel Club is a Kadokawa group company responsible for some of the best English-language production of Japanese light novel content worldwide. It prides itself on high-quality books curated close to Japan’s own production timelines. Titles include Ascendence of a Bookworm, Apothecary Diaries, In Another World With My Smartphone, Full Metal Panic!, and Slayers. At JNC’s heart is both its in-house staff and its robust freelance workforce of translators, editors, and quality controllers.