Director, Compliance (Eats Compliance)
Company Introduction
We exist to wow our customers. We know we’re doing the right thing when we hear our customers say, “How did I ever live without Coupang?” Born out of an obsession to make shopping, eating, and living easier than ever, we are collectively disrupting the multi-billion-dollar commerce industry from the ground up and establishing an unparalleled reputation for being leading and reliable force in South Korean commerce.
We are proud to have the best of both worlds — a startup culture with the resources of a large global public company. This fuels us to continue our growth and launch new services at the speed we have been since our inception. We are all entrepreneurs surrounded by opportunities to drive new initiatives and innovations. At our core, we are bold and ambitious people that like to get our hands dirty and make a hands-on impact. At Coupang, you will see yourself, your colleagues, your team, and the company grow every day.
Our mission to build the future of commerce is real. We push the boundaries of what’s possible to solve problems and break traditional tradeoffs. Join Coupang now to create an epic experience in this always-on, high-tech, and hyper-connected world.
Coupang Eats
Coupang Eats is Coupang's food delivery service and the fastest-growing delivery service in South Korea. Having burst onto the Korean delivery scene in 2019, Coupang Eats surprised the world once again in 2024 with 'unlimited free delivery.’ This is the result of our relentless efforts to bring the best delivery experience to our customers.
The innovations we've introduced so far are just the beginning. We will never stop working toward a better future so that everyone in the world can experience a better meal. Coupang Eats gives its employees ample opportunities to grow. If you want to grow along with experts in their respective fields, join us now.
Role Overview
As the Director of Eats Compliance, you will be the strategic leader responsible for building and overseeing a world-class compliance framework tailored to the fast-paced food delivery ecosystem across Korea and Japan. This role goes beyond traditional legal oversight; it requires a "hands-on" leader who can navigate the complex intersection of food safety, platform regulations, merchant compliance, and delivery operations.
You will have ownership of compliance strategies for the Korean and/or Japanese markets, leading the systematic identification and mitigation of risks across the entire Eats value chain. Drawing on global best practices, you will ensure that our service not only complies with regional laws but also sets the gold standard for safety, data privacy, and labor integrity in the platform economy.
What You Will Do
- Direct and manage the end-to-end compliance strategy for Eats business operations in Korea and/or Japan, ensuring alignment with local regulatory environments and the evolving risk landscape of the food delivery service.
- Develop, maintain, and operate a robust compliance monitoring program tailored to the unique risk profile of the Eats platform, including proactive identification and mitigation of compliance risks.
- Track, assess, and implement regulatory changes across Korea and Japan, including food safety laws, fair trade regulations, labor regulations, and platform-specific legislation (e.g., the Online Platform Act).
- Oversee labor law compliance, including gig worker classifications, delivery partner safety standards, and fair labor practices, in accordance with applicable regional regulations.
- Establish and enforce Privacy Compliance protocols to protect customer, merchant, and delivery partner data, ensuring strict adherence to PIPA (Korea), APPI (Japan), and other relevant data protection laws.
- Leverage data analytics to identify high-risk merchants, delivery patterns, and potential data breaches that could compromise service integrity or regulatory compliance.
- Manage operational compliance requirements covering product listings, merchant eligibility, transportation safety, and the Andon program for food safety incident and crisis management.
- Lead deep-dive reviews of compliance gaps, identifying root causes and collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders to design and implement sustainable, long-term remediation measures.
- Act as the primary compliance partner to business leadership, providing clear, actionable guidance that balances regulatory requirements with business growth and operational scalability.
Basic Qualifications
- Minimum 10 years of total professional experience, including 5+ years in regulatory management, QA, or compliance, and 5+ years of leadership experience in food delivery, e-commerce, or platform-based services
- Deep compliance expertise related to the Eats business, with a strong understanding of the regulatory risks inherent in the logistics–delivery–merchant operating model.
- Proven knowledge of the regulatory environments in Korea and Japan, with specific expertise in food safety regulations, platform fairness requirements, and labor laws
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Strong understanding of HR compliance, particularly labor relations and workforce management within the gig economy, as well as privacy compliance, including data lifecycle management and regulatory obligations
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Ability to analyze complex, interconnected data sets, identify causal relationships, and make reliable, data-driven decisions in fast-paced and high-pressure environments
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A hands-on track record of driving process optimization and designing, building, and operating scalable compliance frameworks within high-growth or rapidly evolving organizations
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Ability to translate complex legal and regulatory requirements into clear and actionable operational SOPs, and to communicate effectively with senior leadership and cross-functional teams in a cross-border, multicultural environment
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English proficiency is required; Korean proficiency is preferred
Preferred Qualifications
- Senior leadership experience at a global food delivery company or major tech platform, with a proven track record of leading cross-border (Korea–Japan) business and regulatory operations
- End-to-end operational experience, spanning manufacturing and franchise-based quality control, online retail, and digital platform distribution models
- Professional certifications in risk management, ethics, or privacy (e.g., CIPP, CCEP, or equivalent), with demonstrated impact on enterprise-wide governance and compliance maturity
Recruitment Process and Others
Recruitment Process
- Application Review - Phone Interview - Onsite (or Virtual Onsite) Interview – Offer
- The exact nature of the recruitment process may vary according to the specific job and may be changed due to scheduling or other circumstances.
- Interview schedules and the results will be informed to the applicant via the e-mail address submitted at the application stage.
Details to Consider
- This job posting may be closed prior to the stated end date for application if all openings are filled.
- Coupang has the right to rescind an offer of employment if a candidate is found to have submitted false information as part of the application process.
- Those eligible for employment protection (recipients of veteran’s benefits, the disabled, etc.) may receive preferential treatment for employment in accordance with applicable laws.
- Job titles and responsibilities may be subject to change depending on the candidate’s overall experience, etc. This will be communicated to the candidate at the appropriate time before the offer.
- Hiring may be restricted in case the legal qualifications required for hiring and work performance is not met.
- This is a full-time regular position and includes 12 weeks of probation period; provided, however, the probationary period may be either skipped, shortened or extended if necessary for business purposes.
Privacy Notice
- Your personal information will be collected and managed by Coupang as stated in the Application Privacy Notice located below.
- https://privacy.coupang.com/en/land/jobs/
Document Return Policy
- This notification is given pursuant to Article 11 (6) of the Fair Hiring Procedure Act.
- A job applicant, who has applied but not been finally selected for a position at Coupang (the “Company”), may request the Company to return his/her hiring documents submitted pursuant to the Fair Hiring Procedure Act. However, this will not apply where the hiring documents were submitted via the website of the Company or e-mail, or where the job applicant submitted those documents voluntarily without a request from the Company. In addition, if the hiring documents were destroyed due to a natural disaster or any other reasons not attributable to the Company, such documents will be deemed to have been returned to the job applicant.
- A job applicant who wishes to request the return of his/her hiring documents pursuant to the main sentence of paragraph 2 above should fill out a “Request for Return of Hiring Documents” [Annex Form No. 3 in the Enforcement Rule of the Fair Hiring Procedure Act] and submit It by email (recruitingops@coupang.com). In such case, within fourteen (14) days from the date of identifying the receipt of the request, the Company will send the hiring documents to the job applicant’s designated address via registered mail. Please be informed that the job applicant is required to pay the postage on the registered mail.
- In preparation for a job applicant’s request for the return of hiring documents pursuant to the main sentence of paragraph 2 above, the Company shall retain the original hiring documents submitted by the job applicant for 180 days from the completion of the recruiting process. If no request is made until the end of this period, all his/her hiring documents will be destroyed immediately in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act.
- The above paragraphs 1 - 4 shall only apply when the labor-related laws of Korea govern the application. They are otherwise not applicable.