Account Associate, Japan

The role

This person will identify, shape, and advance complex enterprise opportunities in Japan. They will run outbound motions and turn product usage or inbound interest into qualified pipeline.

What you will do

• Run high-quality outbound motions tailored to Japan Strategic & Large Enterprise, DNB and Startup accounts
• Turn product usage, inbound interest, pilot activity, and outbound efforts into qualified pipeline
• Partner with Account Directors on account strategy, multi-threading, and deal progression
• Lead high-quality discovery to uncover business priorities, map stakeholders, and assess enterprise readiness
• Contribute to pipeline reviews by sharing outbound activity, account insights, and early competitive signals
• Build and iterate on AI-enabled GTM workflows to scale prospecting and qualification
• Provide local market feedback to HQ and help improve playbooks for Japan

Required qualifications

• Native or near-native Japanese, with strong business communication skills
• Business-level English
• Strong track record in B2B SaaS, technology sales development, startup sales, or similar roles
• Proven ability to generate pipeline through outbound prospecting and inbound qualification
• Strong discovery skills, follow-up discipline, and stakeholder mapping ability
• Comfortable speaking with technical buyers such as Product, Engineering, IT, Data, or Security stakeholders
• High ownership, strong judgment, and comfort operating in an ambiguous and fast-moving environment

Nice to have

• 7-10 years of total work experience
• 3-5+ years of relevant experience in SDR, BDR, inside sales, startup sales, enterprise/commercial AD, or similar GTM roles
• Some closing or full-cycle sales experience is strongly preferred
• Can build trust quickly with Japanese customers
• Experience in startup or high-growth environments selling into regulated or complex industries (Financial Services, Life Sciences, Retail)
• Some closing or full-cycle sales experience and a track record of consistently hitting and exceeding ambitious targets
• Experience selling API, developer tools, cloud, data, security, or other technical products
• Strong hands-on experience using AI, with a deep interest in the landscape and the ability to translate OpenAI products into clear, tangible business value for customers
• You’re comfortable with ambiguity, moving quickly, and operating well with a high degree of ownership
• Can act as a strong bridge between Japan market needs and HQ

About the company

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. They push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through their products.