Korean-Japanese Curriculum Designer (Contract)

ABOUT US Our mission is to reinvent the way people learn, starting with language. Learning a language can change a life by opening doors to new cultures, careers, and communities. Two billion people around the world are actively trying to learn a language, but the best way to learn (one-on-one tutoring) is hard to access at scale and hasn’t been meaningfully improved in decades. Speak is building a human-level, AI-powered tutor in your pocket: a conversation-first experience that lets learners actually speak, get instant feedback, and progress through carefully designed lessons. The result is a complete path from beginner to confident speaker across multiple languages. Speak first launched in South Korea in 2019, where Speak has now become the number one language learning app, and we now serve learners across many markets and 15+ languages. Speak is one of the world’s leading AI companies, with over $150m raised in venture investment from OpenAI, Accel, Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, and more, with a distributed team across San Francisco, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Ljubljana. ABOUT THIS ROLE We are looking for a full-time contractor (6-month contract), a Curriculum Designer/Content Writer to join Speak’s Content team and help create high-quality language learning in-app content. This role focuses on planning curricula and developing materials for Korean speakers learning Japanese. You will develop, edit, and localize innovative, engaging, and pedagogically sound materials for this specific audience. We are eager to work with world-class linguists/teachers/curriculum designers/content writers who have: - a deep understanding of spoken fluency development and language learning - experience successfully teaching or developing learning modules/materials - a strong product sense and an understanding of how teaching and technology can be integrated to create exceptional content WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING - Own the Korean-Japanese curriculum and high-priority content projects end-to-end- delivering high-quality learning experiences through clear planning, proactive communication, and strong execution. - Manage or facilitate content projects - either having end-to-end ownership or participating in content projects from content planning to writing, production, and launch content that feels fresh, modern, culturally attuned, and effective for Korean Japanese learners and is aligned with Speak’s brand philosophy - Content maintenance and iteration - Iterate and polish content based on QA, user testing, user feedback, and/or peer review. - Adopt AI-enabled workflows to streamline production, prototype new ideas, and improve efficiency across the Korean-Japanese curriculum. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR MUST-HAVES - Native-level Korean proficiency with strong cultural intuition for what resonates in the Korean market for Japanese learners. - Native or near-native proficiency in Japanese (both spoken and written). - Experience in Japanese education content planning, development, or instructional design - Exceptional user empathy. Deep understanding of Korean learner needs and Japanese-learning challenges. - Ability to ship high-quality curriculum independently and make sound decisions with minimal oversight. - Strong technical fluency with modern tools and ability to ramp quickly on new systems. - Operationally strong: clear communicator on scope/trade-offs and able to manage multiple workstreams - Based in Korea and willing to commit to 6 months full-time, with possibility of extension based on performance & business need NICE-TO-HAVES - Able to communicate in English with the global teams based in US - Content analytics intuition: able to identify which engagement and learning metrics matter and translate insights into curriculum improvements. - Experience using AI tools (e.g., LLMs, generators, internal tools) to create instructionally sound, pedagogically aligned, and scalable learning materials—beyond simply asking ChatGPT for ideas or drafts. - Worked directly with EdTech or language-learning apps in roles involving curriculum design, content production, learning experience design, or pedagogical strategy. WHY WORK AT SPEAK 1. Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we're growing very quickly, we've most recently raised our Series C from some of the top investors in the valley, and we've achieved product-market fit in our initial markets. You'd join at a magical time when a single person could significantly change the course of the company. 2. Do your life's work with people you’ll love working with: we care strongly about our craft and want every person at Speak to feel like they're growing every day. We believe in the idea that working with people you both enjoy and have respect for makes everything better. We hire thoughtfully and only work with people we admire deeply. 3. Global in nature: We're live in over 40 countr