Guidewire Localization Product Manager

We are looking for an experienced Guidewire Localization Product Manager who can understand customer and market needs and translate them into actionable product requirements. In this role, you will own the feature backlog, determine product priorities, and work closely with stakeholders and development teams to support successful product delivery.

Job Details:

• Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Visa Sponsorship: Available
• Employment Type: Permanent
• Japanese: Fluent Japanese language proficiency is a must

The Product Manager will deeply understand customer and market needs and translate them into actionable product requirements, supporting product strategy and the creation of business value. The Product Manager owns the feature backlog and is responsible for determining product direction and priorities while ensuring that the backlog remains ready for development.

The role works closely with stakeholders and development teams to ensure that a viable product can be released within the expected timeline. The decisions made in this role directly influence product success and customer value.

Responsibilities

• Work with internal teams to understand customer business needs, the priorities behind those needs, and how they apply to individual customers as well as the wider Japanese market.
• Convert business needs into complete and logical product requirements that can be used to define and maintain the feature backlog.
• Own the feature backlog and manage backlog refinement, sequencing, and prioritization based on outcome-focused goals.
• Coordinate with other internal teams where required.
• Work closely with developers throughout the Agile development process.
• Make tactical decisions during development and work through exceptional or edge cases.
• Ensure technical teams clearly understand the purpose and intent behind the requirements.
• Represent the Product Management team when working with technical teams.
• Ensure that the intended product requirements and actual implementation remain aligned.
• Participate in Agile activities, including sprint planning and backlog refinement.
• Participate in daily stand-ups and retrospectives.
• Identify opportunities to improve the team's working processes and drive those improvements.
• Review completed features and approve them after confirming that the acceptance criteria have been met.
• Proactively use the partner organization's internal network to resolve questions, validate assumptions, and gather necessary information.

Required Skills & Experience

• Practical experience working on system implementation projects for the insurance industry.
• The experience must go beyond theoretical insurance knowledge. The candidate should be able to explain how a business requirement translates into a specific change within a Guidewire product.
• Guidewire product certification is preferred. Candidates who do not currently hold the required certification can still be considered if they have relevant Guidewire project experience.
• Candidates joining without the required certification are expected to make reasonable efforts to obtain the applicable Guidewire certification within one month of assignment, unless otherwise agreed.
• Business-level written and spoken English sufficient to communicate independently with a global product team.
• Ability to present information to different stakeholder groups and influence stakeholders.
• Strong written and spoken Japanese.
• Strong ownership and accountability for results.
• Ability to take responsibility for outcomes, drive decisions, and work independently without requiring continuous direction.
• Familiarity with Agile product development methods, including backlog management and sprint ceremonies.

Highly Desirable

• Guidewire product certification at Ace level in at least one Guidewire product.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted requirements generation tools.
• Ability to effectively review, correct, and expand AI-generated outputs rather than always creating requirements from the beginning.
• Experience working across multiple insurance programs or insurance lines of business at the same time.
• Proven ability to use internal networks within a partner organization to identify domain experts, validate requirements, and resolve knowledge gaps.

Nice to Have

• Previous product management experience at a Guidewire customer organization or Guidewire implementation partner.
• Formal training in presentation or facilitation.