Sales Development Representative - Japan
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.
About the Role
We’re looking for a high-energy Sales Development Representative (SDR) to qualify inbound interest, run thoughtful outbound campaigns, and partner with Account Executives to build pipeline. In addition to generating qualified meetings, this role is a closing role, owning and closing transactional opportunities. You’ll be the first touch for many prospects—diagnosing needs, shaping demand, and progressing opportunities to build pipeline and performance across our team.
What You’ll Do at Speak
Qualify inbound leads from web forms, events, and referrals; strong discovery skills to confirm fit, urgency, and buying roles
Design and execute outbound campaigns (email, phone, social, video) for target accounts and personas; personalize at scale using insights, triggers, and industry POVs
Generate SQLs and book meetings for AE partners; build clear handoffs (mutual agenda, notes, next steps) to maximize meeting kept and conversion to pipeline
Own and close transactional deals end-to-end (pricing, light negotiation, order execution) following defined guardrails and approval paths
Maintain precise CRM hygiene (stages, next steps, contacts, dispositions) and forecast your weekly outputs with accuracy
Continuously test & learn—A/B subject lines, sequences, talk tracks, and cadences; share wins with the team
Represent the brand with consultative, value-led conversations that educate and advance the buyer journey
We’d Love to Hear from You if you have
1–3+ years in SDR/BDR, inside sales (closing role), or high-volume customer-facing role (SaaS preferred)
Demonstrated success in both inbound qualification and outbound prospecting
Comfortable closing transactional deals with light negotiation
Excellent written and verbal communication; crisp note-taking and call recap discipline
Proficiency with CRM (HubSpot), sequencing tools (Lemlist), intent/signals (Exa, Indent), and LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Organized, curious, coachable; thrives in goal-driven environments; Looking to grow sales career with deal closing experience
While it’s not required, it’s an added plus if you also have:
Experience in EdTech or language learning
Understanding of Qualification frameworks, like MEDDPICC, BANT
Demonstrated ability to succeed in a changing environment
Why work at Speak
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.
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.
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, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.
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.