(Full-Time) Interpreter

With a global presence, an innovative and expansive product portfolio, and an obsessive commitment to quality, our organization is entirely focused on driving excellence and achieving high-impact success.

Through an intentional, performance-driven culture. Check out our website to discover the Tenneco Way

A leading international manufacturing corporation is seeking a highly skilled Bilingual Executive Coordinator & Translator. This role acts as a critical bridge between Japanese and American operations, providing high-level interpretation, translation, and administrative support. The ideal candidate will manage corporate translation needs, coordinate international import logistics, and provide comprehensive relocation and lifestyle support to expatriate employees.

Position Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Confidential (Manufacturing Environment), Red Wing MN

company name withheld for private search.

Language Support: Deliver precise English-to-Japanese and Japanese-to-English translation and interpretation.
Expatriate Care: Provide comprehensive lifestyle and administrative support to Japanese employees within and outside of work hours.
Administrative Operations: Manage purchase order requisitions, perform general office tasks, and serve as the secondary backup for payroll processing.

Specific Responsibilities Interpretation & Translation (65%)

Written Translation: Translate emails, memos, handbooks, job descriptions, presentations, corporate forms, and training materials.
Verbal Interpretation: Provide simultaneous and consecutive interpretation for board meetings, teleconferences, ceremonies, customer visits, and government audits.
Expatriate Relocation: Guide Japanese employees through the onboarding process, including securing housing, social security numbers, driver's licenses, bank accounts, and utilities.
On-Call Assistance: Answer and make urgent phone calls for Japanese employees and families as needed, including occasional weekends.
Travel Management: Coordinate corporate travel arrangements and accompany executives on domestic or international business trips as required.
Interpret for the annual Board of Directors meeting (typically February), translate all executive decks, and travel out of state if necessary.
International Delegation: Accompany American engineering teams to the parent plant in Japan as an interpreter once per year (approximately 1 week).

PO Management: Submit purchase order requisitions through the internal Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, secure approval numbers from the purchasing department, and issue final POs to overseas vendors.

Freight Management: Collaborate with freight forwarders, customs brokers, and logistics providers to submit clearance documentation and expedite shipments.
Tracking: Monitor international cargo status daily until final delivery at the domestic facility.
Organize and archive shipping calendars, commercial invoices, packing lists, and customs documentation.
Operations Support: Cross-train to back up the payroll processor and perform general administrative tasks (filing, phone management, office supplies).
Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
Language Proficiency: Native or near-native fluency in Japanese and English. Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N1 level and/or TOEIC score of 900+ required.
Experience: Minimum of 2 years of professional interpreting experience within a manufacturing or industrial environment.
Demonstrated experience navigating Japanese corporate structure and business etiquette.
Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and general ERP software familiarity.

Absolute discretion regarding confidential executive and payroll data.
Prior work experience or foundational knowledge in international logistics (Incoterms, customs clearance, import regulations).

Equal opportunity employer as to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities

#