About the role
Fluency in Japanese required.
The Sales Development Representative is the front line of the Shopify Plus Sales team. We find the world's fastest-growing ecommerce stores and help them make their shopping experience even better using our best-in-class solution via impactful, value-driven outreach and great conversations. We take them from “What is Shopify Plus” to “How have I gone this long without it!”
This role is a remote position for candidates who are currently based in Japan.
Key Responsibilities:
Identifying good fit cross-border merchants in the Japan region.
Ideating and leveraging creative multi-channel outreach strategies to build interest in engaging with our commercial team - these merchants may or may not have even heard of Shopify or Shopify Plus.
Qualifying prospective merchants, in particular for Shopify Plus fit, and filling the pipeline with quality opportunities.
Understanding how merchants in Japan approach multi-channel selling - who are the major players, and how can we help them.
Creating a positive and valuable first impression to merchants by providing an unrivalled merchant discovery experience.
Maintaining active engagement with new and existing leads through our CRM.
Account planning with your sales reps/account executives on key target accounts within your book of business.
Contributing to building culture and upholding Shopify values in our growing APAC region.
Liaising with your peers across the world in markets like Singapore, India, SEA, North America and EMEA to refine processes and consistently evolve the scope of the role.
Collaborating cross functionally with peers across marketing, channel sales/partnerships and direct sales to drive meaningful engagement and nurturing of merchant prospects.
Working with your lead to up-skill in areas of professional and personal development including special projects to continually drive top-of-the-funnel impact within the commercial team in APAC.
Qualifications:
Experience and knowledge of the Japan market (primary focus)
Experience in outbound sales/business development roles
Experience in working with international teams.
Demonstrate excellent written/verbal communication skills.
Proficiency in leveraging AI-native tools for GTM
Foundational skills in conversational, opportunity management and mindset frameworks (e.g. SPICED, BANT, challenger sale)
Ability to multitask, prioritize, and manage time effectively.
Be a highly motivated, driven, and self-starting individual who can hit the ground running.
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and operate with ambiguity.
Strong process improvement skills to help develop the role as things change with the business.
High proficiency in English and Japanese is crucial for this role
What we’re looking for in salespeople
Builder mindset: You don’t just follow a playbook—you improve it. You test, iterate, document, and scale what works.
Outbound excellence: You proactively create a pipeline through high-intent outreach across channels (calls, email, social, events, partners).
Technical sales craft: You run structured discovery, quantify impact, build mutual plans, and maintain strong CRM hygiene/forecasting.
Execution intensity: You bring pace, resilience, competitiveness, and the ability to take a hit and keep going.
High agency: You default to action, take ownership, and don’t wait to be told.
Thrive in ambiguity + change: You stay effective when priorities shift, products evolve, and you’re building while selling.
How we work
Shopify rewards builders with high agency. You’ll have real autonomy, high standards, and a fast pace. We iterate, we challenge each other, and we expect you to take ownership of outcomes—not wait for perfect conditions. If you want comfort and certainty, this won’t fit. If you want responsibility and growth, it will.
About Shopify
Opportunity is not evenly distributed. Shopify puts independence within reach for anyone with a dream to start a business. We propel entrepreneurs and enterprises to scale the heights of their potential. Since 2006, we’ve grown to over 8,300 employees and generated over $1 trillion in sales for millions of merchants in 175 countries.
This is life-defining work that directly impacts people’s lives as much as it transforms your own. This is putting the power of the few in the hands of the many, is a future with more voices rather than fewer, and is creating more choices instead of an elite option.
About you
Moving at our pace brings a lot of change, complexity, and ambiguity—and a little bit of chaos. Shopifolk thrive on that and are comfortable being uncomfortable. That means Shopify is not the right place for everyone.
Before you apply, consider if you can:
- Care deeply about what you do and about making commerce better for everyone
- Excel by seeking professional and personal hypergrowth
- Keep up with an unrelenting pace (the week, not the quarter)
- Be resilient and resourceful in face of ambiguity and thrive on (rather than endure) change
- Bring critical thought and opinion
- Put AI agents and tools to work on the tasks they're built for, and focus on the work only humans can do
- Embrace differences and disagreement to get shit done and move forward
- Work digital-first for your daily work
We may use AI-enabled tools to screen, select, and assess applications. All AI outputs are reviewed and validated by our recruitment team.
