--- title: 'Program Manager - Japan (Bilingual Japanese/English) at PlusAI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/program-manager-japan-bilingual-japanese-english-plusai-santa-clara-0ahxgnsxxmm4' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-15' --- # Program Manager - Japan (Bilingual Japanese/English) at PlusAI - **Company:** PlusAI - **Location:** Santa Clara, CA - **Compensation:** $120k–$160k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-09-11 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-15 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/plus-2/30785092-b822-4d66-a011-2a1ab64100b2 ## Job description PlusAI is a Physical AI company pioneering AI-based virtual driver software for factory-built autonomous trucks. Headquartered in Silicon Valley with operations in the United States and Europe, Plus was named by Fast Company as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies. Partners including TRATON GROUP’s Scania, MAN, and International brands, Hyundai Motor Company, Iveco Group, Bosch, and DSV are working with Plus to accelerate the deployment of next-generation autonomous trucks. If you’re ready to make a huge impact and drive the future of autonomy, Plus is looking for talented individuals to join its fast-growing teams. About the role: PlusAI is looking for a Program Manager to serve as the day-to-day owner of Japan-based programs — the connective tissue between our Japanese partners and PlusAI's engineering, product, and operations teams in the Bay Area. This role is based in the Bay Area with regular, though not full-time, travel to Japan (approximately 25%). Japanese fluency is required, since you will be operating as a trusted, direct point of contact for partner teams who communicate primarily in Japanese. ## Responsibilities - Independently manage ongoing programs with PlusAI’s Japanese customers, acting as the primary point of contact for program-level matters. - Serve as the connective tissue between Japan-based partner teams and PlusAI’s cross-functional engineering, product, and operations organizations in the U.S., translating context and priorities accurately in both directions. - Gather and integrate project performance and progress information from engineering, quality, and partner teams. - Prepare and deliver detailed status reports — accomplishments, upcoming deliverables, project metrics, and risk analysis — for both PlusAI leadership and partner stakeholders, in English and Japanese as needed. - Prepare and maintain detailed project plans, deliverable timelines, KPIs, and milestones across Japan programs. - Identify dependencies and risks early, and drive mitigation plans across internal teams and partner organizations. - Travel to Japan (~25%) to represent PlusAI in person at key partner reviews, program milestones, and testing activities. Required Skills - Fluent in Japanese and English, with the ability to work professionally in both languages — written, verbal, and in real-time discussion. - Solid program management experience, with a proven track record of building and executing complex, cross-functional programs. - Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the judgment to adapt style and approach for different audiences and cultural contexts. - Strong organizational and planning skills; a natural leader in providing structure, prioritization, and decisiveness. - Willingness and ability to travel to Japan approximately 25% of the time. ## Preferred Skills - Prior professional experience living or working in Japan, with first-hand familiarity with Japanese business norms and communication style. - Experience working with Japanese automotive OEMs or Tier 1 suppliers. - Experience in the automotive, autonomous vehicle, or trucking industry. ## Your opportunities joining PlusAI Work, learn and grow in a highly future-oriented, innovative and dynamic field. Wide range of opportunities for personal and professional development. Catered free lunch, unlimited snacks and beverages. Highly competitive salary and benefits package, including 401(k) plan. ## About PlusAI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: PlusAI develops AI-based autonomous driving software for heavy trucks, powering Level 4 (L4) virtual driver systems that enable trucks to operate without human intervention on highways. - **Entity Type**: Private (planning to go public via a SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX, NYSE: PLAV – conflicting reports indicate the reverse merger may have been cancelled) - **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States - **Founded**: 2016 - **Founders**: Not publicly available in provided sources ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Autonomous driving / automotive technology - **Target customers**: B2B – global truck manufacturers (OEMs) and large freight fleets - **Mission**: To make trucking safer, more efficient, and more sustainable by deploying AI-powered autonomous driving at scale ## Products & Services - **SuperDrive**: L4 autonomous driving system that serves as a virtual driver for factory-built heavy trucks. Designed to be installed by OEMs and monetized on a per-mile usage basis. - **PlusDrive**: A driver-assist version of SuperDrive that keeps a human in the cabin to oversee the system. Already in commercial use, reducing driver fatigue and fuel costs. - **SuperDrive HyperFoundry**: A suite of proprietary AV data and tools (data acquisition, auto-labeling, 3D reconstruction, neural simulation) sold to third-party customers today, generating revenue before the full L4 launch. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed; the SPAC merger was valued at $300M (conflicting reports of cancellation). - **Key Metric**: Annual revenue of $4M (as of latest data); total funding of ~$1.3B across 8 rounds. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: TRATON GROUP (Scania, MAN, International), Hyundai Motor Company, Iveco Group, Bosch, DSV, Ryder. - **Growth Signals**: - Active trial with Ryder and International on a 600+ mile daily route (I-35 corridor) – 60,000+ cumulative miles, approaching 100 runs. - Recent software upgrades enabling night driving and construction zone capabilities. - Partnered with multiple global OEMs to install SuperDrive on factory-built trucks – no retrofitting required. - 7M+ miles of L4-validated data collected. ## Competitive Advantages - **Asset-light software model**: Zero manufacturing capex – PlusAI is a pure-play software provider, avoiding heavy hardware costs. - **OEM integration**: Factory-installed by partners like TRATON and Hyundai, providing a scalable path to thousands of trucks. - **Proprietary data moat**: Over $500M in R&D investment and 7M+ miles of validated data enable advanced AI models (end-to-end and vision-language-action). - **Capital efficiency**: Path to cash-flow positive in 2027E, with lower OpEx than key competitors. ## Strategic Focus - **Near-term**: Commercial launch of driverless L4 trucks in 2027, targeting revenue from per-mile usage. - **Current revenue generation**: Selling AV data and tools (HyperFoundry) to third parties. - **R&D edge**: Leveraging large AI models and generative AI to continuously improve the virtual driver’s capabilities and expand the Operational Design Domain (ODD). ## Why Work Here - **Culture & ratings**: Employer rating of 4.1/5 (30 reviews), with high marks for work-life balance (4.6), culture (4.7), and career growth (4.6). - **Engineering focus**: 105 technical employees (23% of workforce); active job postings (38) include senior ML infrastructure, perception, planning, simulation, and engineering intern roles. - **Global offices**: HQ in Santa Clara, CA, with offices in Fremont, Cupertino, and Munich, Germany. Workforce spans 8 countries. - **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work on cutting-edge autonomous driving technology with partners like TRATON, Hyundai, and Bosch. Strong talent pipeline from Stanford, CMU, and alumni at Waymo, NVIDIA, Apple. ## Sources 1. [LinkedIn – PlusAI](https://linkedin.com/company/plusai) 2. [CB Insights – PlusAI](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/plusai) 3. [PitchBook – PlusAI](https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/180375-76) 4. [PlusAI Presentation (April 2026)](https://www.plus.ai/documents/plusai-presentation-april-2026.pdf) 5. 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