Sales Country Leader ( Japan)

Deepgram

COMPANY OVERVIEW Deepgram is the leading platform underpinning the emerging trillion-dollar Voice AI economy, providing real-time APIs for speech-to-text (STT), text-to-speech (TTS), and building production-grade voice agents at scale. More than 200,000 developers and 1,300+ organizations build voice offerings that are ‘Powered by Deepgram’, including Twilio, Cloudflare, Sierra, Decagon, Vapi, Daily, Cresta, Granola, and Jack in the Box. Deepgram’s voice-native foundation models are accessed through cloud APIs or as self-hosted and on-premises software, with unmatched accuracy, low latency, and cost efficiency. Backed by a recent Series C led by leading global investors and strategic partners, Deepgram has processed over 50,000 years of audio and transcribed more than 1 trillion words. There is no organization in the world that understands voice better than Deepgram. COMPANY OPERATING RHYTHM At Deepgram, we expect an AI-first mindset—AI use and comfort aren’t optional, they’re core to how we operate, innovate, and measure performance. Every team member who works at Deepgram is expected to actively use and experiment with advanced AI tools, and even build your own into your everyday work. We measure how effectively AI is applied to deliver results, and consistent, creative use of the latest AI capabilities is key to success here. Candidates should be comfortable adopting new models and modes quickly, integrating AI into their workflows, and continuously pushing the boundaries of what these technologies can do. Additionally, we move at the pace of AI. Change is rapid, and you can expect your day-to-day work to evolve just as quickly. This may not be the right role if you’re not excited to experiment, adapt, think on your feet, and learn constantly, or if you’re seeking something highly prescriptive with a traditional 9-to-5. THE OPPORTUNITY Deepgram is already seeing strong demand in Japan, and this role is about building the business that meets it. As Country Leader, Japan, you will shape and lead Deepgram's go-to-market in the country: converting that demand into a structured motion across direct enterprise selling and partnerships, building the team that delivers it, and becoming the senior face of Deepgram to Japanese enterprises. This is primarily a build role. Japan is a market where enterprise trust is earned in person and over time, and where the voice AI category itself is still being defined. You will spend your early months with customers and partners, translating strong interest into lasting relationships and helping the market understand what voice AI, STT, TTS, and voice agents make possible. As the business grows, you will hire and coach the team beneath you and put the sales rigor in place to scale. You will carry strategic deals yourself while you build, and you will shape the playbook rather than inherit one. If building a business in one of the world's most rewarding enterprise markets energizes you, this role is for you. WHO YOU ARE You are both a market builder and a sales leader, and you are equally strong at each. You have opened a market, stood up a region, or built a team from early stage before, and you know that the work in the first year is less about running a machine and more about creating one. You are a consultative, relationship-led seller who is comfortable sitting with a Japanese enterprise executive who is still forming a view of a new category, and earning their trust through patience, expertise, and genuine partnership. You are credible at the most senior levels of Japanese enterprise, fluent in the culture and the language of how business is done here, and just as comfortable coaching a new AE through their first deals. You can install the disciplines of a high-performing sales team, pipeline, forecasting, and territory planning, while keeping the consultative approach the market rewards. You see building the team and carrying the number as two halves of the same job. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Own the number: accountable for Japan pipeline generation and ARR growth. - Build Japan's go-to-market: shape and execute the strategy that converts strong, existing demand into a repeatable and scalable motion. - Serve as the senior face of Deepgram to Japanese enterprises, building trusted, long-term relationships with executive buyers. - Lead category education, helping enterprise buyers understand what voice AI, STT, TTS, and voice agents make possible. - Drive both motions: direct enterprise selling and a partner and co-sell motion with global systems integrators, ISVs, and hyperscalers (for example AWS, Sierra, and Twilio). - Carry strategic deals personally as a player-coach while you build the team. - Build and scale the Japan sales team: hire, pair, and coach AEs, and develop the next generation of Deepgram sales talent in-market. - Put the right sales rigor in place: pipeline discipline, accurate forecasting, and sound territory planning. - Act as the voice of the Japan market inside Deepgram: bring back customer and product feedback, language readiness, and localization needs so we serve the market better and help shape the roadmap. YOU'LL LOVE THIS ROLE IF YOU - Are energized by building and want to shape and grow a market. - Believe that in Japan, enterprise trust is earned in person, over time, through consultative partnership. - Enjoy educating a market on a new category and can make a complex technical shift clear and compelling to senior buyers. - Want to build and coach a team, and take pride in developing talent. - Are comfortable being both the senior operator carrying strategic deals and the leader building the organization behind them. - Are passionate about Deepgram's mission and what voice AI makes possible. IT'S IMPORTANT TO US THAT YOU HAVE - Deep experience selling to and building relationships with Japanese enterprises, with business-level Japanese and native-level cultural fluency. - A track record of opening a market, building a region, or standing up a team from early stage. - Consultative, relationship-led selling experience in complex, long-cycle enterprise deals, including educating buyers on a new or emerging category. - Demonstrated ability to build and coach a high-performing AE team, and to bring sales rigor across pipeline, forecasting, and territory planning. - Comfort operating as a player-coach, carrying strategic deals personally while building the team. - Experience with partner and co-sell motions (systems integrators, ISVs, hyperscalers) alongside a direct enterprise motion. - An existing network across Japanese enterprise, telco, CCaaS, or systems-integrator ecosystems. - A history of stable tenure and clear progression across your roles. Hires at this level typically have 15 or more years of relevant experience. IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU HAD - Experience selling developer tools, infrastructure, or AI/ML technologies. - Experience introducing a global technology company into the Japan market. - Familiarity with voice AI, speech technology, or customer experience. If the idea of building Deepgram's business in Japan excites you, we'd like to hear from you. BENEFITS & PERKS We offer best-in-class benefits, localized to your market. This includes comprehensive health coverage, generous paid time off, paid parental leave, meaningful learning and development support, and stipends to help you do your best work. Specific benefits are administered locally and governed by country-specific regulations. Backed by prominent investors including Y Combinator, Madrona, Tiger Global, Wing VC and NVIDIA, Deepgram has raised over $215M in total funding. If you're looking to work on cutting-edge technology and make a significant impact in the AI industry, we'd love to hear from you! Deepgram is an equal opportunity employer. We want all voices and perspectives represented in our workforce. We are a curious bunch focused on collaboration and doing the right thing. We put our customers first, grow together and move quickly. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information, political affiliation, or any other status protected by the laws or regulations in the locations where we operate. We are happy to provide accommodations for applicants who need them.