Localization Manager, Canada

Details

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

The Community You Will Join

No global movement springs from individuals. It takes an entire team united behind something big. Airbnb helps anyone belong anywhere as the world’s largest community-driven hospitality company. Every day, we connect thousands of guests and hosts online, leading to meaningful experiences in the real world. We’re helping people live like locals in parts unknown while breaking down cultural barriers and bringing people together.

Do you wake up every day asking yourself how you can impact the creation of a truly local experience that delights global users? Do you love working with content, design, marketing and engineering teams? Do you want to be part of one of the teams that is actively working on bringing to life Airbnb’s mission, where everyone can belong anywhere? Do you love to work in a fast-paced, fun, fast-growing company? Do you like to work in a multicultural team? Do you love owning the localization strategy for your market?

If you answered yes to all the questions above, we would love to talk to you, as the Localization team at Airbnb is looking for an experienced Localization Manager, Canada.

Role overview

Airbnb expects a significant travel rebound and has evolved its marketing and product strategy post-IPO and post-pandemic. Localization at Airbnb has transformed from traditional translation management into a key driver of international growth. The team partners with launching teams across all content and spearheads complex core product capabilities like the Translation Engine — a specialized machine translation service tailored for user-generated content.

As a Localization Manager, you will be pivotal in international expansion efforts. You will join the core leadership team in your region, shaping local initiatives and adapting global strategies to meet market needs. Your role encompasses driving language strategy and fostering collaboration with internal stakeholders and external partners to create internationalized products that resonate with local audiences. You will act as the linguistic and cultural expert, guarding Airbnb’s tone, style and voice, and enforcing quality and excellence in your languages.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with Country Manager, Marketing Manager, Legal Counsel, Business Operations, Policy and Communications Manager to devise business strategies that align with Airbnb’s goals in Canada.
• Share roadmap and intent behind product updates to adopt global strategy for the Canadian market.
• Identify and understand market expectations, crafting language strategies that offer users an authentic native experience in Canada.
• Provide linguistic and cultural expertise to drive international growth and influence stakeholders to deliver the best possible user experience.
• Own and drive localization of product naming and creative copy; represent local teams to build Airbnb’s brand in international markets.
• Initiate and drive conversations with central and local teams to influence product changes to support market needs.
• Actively research needs of Airbnb international users in collaboration with Consumer Insights and Research teams.
• Understand challenges in the localization process and lead localization quality improvement initiatives at the language and team level.
• Take ownership of strategy to achieve excellence in localization quality across all platforms.
• Ensure translation and QA vendors deliver high-quality service that aligns with Airbnb’s standards; assess vendor metrics to identify issues or trends and drive improvements.
• Coordinate language feedback from both users and Airbnb employees.
• Develop and maintain linguistic and cultural standards and guidelines.
• Support content copywriting for marketing initiatives.
• Work with Localization Program Managers and Linguistic QA Managers to ensure top-quality international product shipping.

Requirements

• 8+ years in product localization with a proven track record of owning localization strategy in international launches and managing language quality and content localization.
• Fluency in English and native knowledge of Canadian French (required).
• Experience building market strategies informed by thorough market research and data analysis.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills; ability to drive partnerships and initiatives forward.
• Self-starter with initiative, able to work independently and drive strategic initiatives.
• Outstanding project/program management and partner/stakeholder management experience, including working across cross-functional teams and time zones.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills; ability to manage multiple and diverse stakeholders across businesses and leadership levels.
• Proven ability to work at both strategic and tactical levels and execute in ambiguous environments; must be able to prioritize and manage conflicting demands.
• Experience working with machine translation or translation platforms is referenced via Airbnb’s Translation Engine and localization tooling.

Please submit your resume/CV in English.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base pay range (Canada): $91,000 — $107,000 CAD (annualized).
• This role may also be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits. Actual base pay depends on factors such as training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands.

Location and Work Arrangement

• This position is Canada - Remote Eligible. The role may include occasional work at an Airbnb office or attendance at offsites, as agreed with your manager.
• You must live in a province where Airbnb Canada, Inc. has a registered entity. Currently we can hire in: Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. (This list may evolve; check with your recruiter for eligibility.)

Our Commitment to Inclusion & Belonging

Airbnb is committed to working with the broadest talent pool possible. Diverse ideas foster innovation and engagement and allow us to attract creatively-led people and develop the best products, services and solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

Airbnb strives to provide a disability inclusive application and interview process. If you are a candidate with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to submit an application, contact [email protected] with your full name, the role and the accommodation needed.

How We'll Take Care of You

Our job titles may span more than one career level. The base pay range shown above is annualized, subject to change and may be modified in the future. This role may be eligible for bonus, equity, benefits, and Employee Travel Credits.