Patent Translator EN→JA at Welocalize - Remote Freelance — Columbus
Traveler-Friendly Insight
This is a freelance/contract patent translation role that is highly compatible with a location-independent lifestyle. Work is deliverable-based — translating 5,000+ words per week — meaning there are no fixed office hours or mandatory video calls, making it effectively async-friendly as long as you respond to emails promptly.
Timezone flexibility is strong given the hint that candidates are accepted in Canada, China, Japan, and South Korea — a spread of multiple time zones. The primary constraint is email responsiveness, not synchronous availability.
Visa considerations: Since this is freelance/contractor work, you can likely operate under a digital nomad visa or even a tourist visa (where legally permitted for remote freelancers). Popular options include:
- Portugal (Lisbon): Digital nomad visa available; cost of living is moderate — your per-word rate would go far here.
- Thailand (Bangkok/Chiang Mai): Low cost of living, great for freelancers; LTR visa or tourist visa with border runs common among nomads.
- Japan (Tokyo): If you're a native Japanese speaker already based there, the Specified Skilled Worker or existing residency applies; Tokyo is expensive but culturally ideal for this role.
No travel-specific perks (equipment stipend, coworking allowance) are mentioned, which is typical for freelance translation contracts. Bring your own XTM/Trados setup. The key asset here is schedule freedom.
As a trusted global transformation partner, Welocalize accelerates the global business journey by enabling brands and companies to reach, engage, and grow international audiences. Welocalize delivers multilingual content transformation services in translation, localization, and adaptation for over 250 languages with a growing network of over 400,000 in-country linguistic resources. Driving innovation in language services, Welocalize delivers high-quality training data transformation solutions for NLP-enabled machine learning by blending technology and human intelligence to collect, annotate, and evaluate all content types. Our team works across locations in North America, Europe, and Asia serving our global clients in the markets that matter to them. www.welocalize.com
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Main Purpose of the Job
We are looking for translators with experience in translating patents from English into Japanese (native-level fluency of Japanese) for a patent translation project.
Main Duties
Translate Biology and Chemistry patent documents from English into Japanese, conveying the original meaning in a manner that is readable and understandable to the target audience.
Additional Job Details
- Tool: XTM
- Volume per week: 5,000+ words per week
- Start date: ASAP
Requirements
- Strong experience in patent translation, particularly in Biology and Chemistry
- Native-level fluency in Japanese
- At least 3 years' experience in patent translation
- Proficiency with CAT tools such as XTM and Trados
- Prompt responses to emails
If you are interested in this position, please send us your CV. We look forward to hearing from you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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