Japanese Interpreter – Salina, KS

Great Plains Manufacturing is seeking a skilled Interpreter to join our team at our new Construction Equipment Manufacturing facility in Salina, KS. The ideal candidate will be proficient in Japanese and English and possess excellent communication skills to facilitate accurate interpretation and translation.

This is an on-site position in Salina, KS. This position typically works Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some evening or weekend hours may be required on occasion for online meetings conducted from other time zones or to provide expat support. Occasional international travel may be required.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Provide interpretation and translation support to CE Manufacturing and CE Research and Development expats who live in Kansas and work at Great Plains Mfg.
• Provide interpretation and translation support to CE Manufacturing Team for Kubota supporters who work on special projects for 60 day to 6-month timeframe. Also translate and explain documents as needed.
• Provide interpretation to CE Research and Development Engineering Team for Kubota supporters who work on special projects for 60-day to 6-month timeframes. Translate and explain documents as needed.
• Wear appropriate PPE while working on the production floor to interpret conversations and employee training in weld, fab, assembly, quality, warehouse, and paint processes.
• Translate US English language documents to Japanese language documents for Kubota supporters to send to Japan. Documents include updates on the assigned project to be completed during their visit to Great Plains Mfg, and project completion updates to meet long-term growth goals for CE Plant.
• Translate Japanese language employee training documents to English language documents for employee training at CE Plant.
• Interpret for Kubota auditors during Kubota Safety Inspections, Kubota Environment Inspections; Kubota Executive Plant Tours and Plant Performance Meeting presentations. Translate presentations in English and Japanese in preparation for Kubota Executive and auditor visits to Great Plains Mfg.
• Position requires on-site support to effectively perform interpretation of meetings, conversations and training. Translation support is required on the production floor to create documents. Interpretation support required to facilitate appropriate decisions and solutions to create manufacturing process documents. Approximately 20% of translation support would be reading documents.
• Provide interpretation support during Kubota supporter’s stay at Great Plains Mfg, Kubota audits and Kubota Executive meetings, if Japanese visitors need medical care, assistance with hotel or rental home, and other living support.
• Provide interpretation at the Kubota Skills Competition in Osaka, Japan during June for the employees competing in the Skills Competition and Great Plains Mfg. representatives.
• Provide additional support to CE leadership team, CE R&D leadership team, and Great Plains Mfg. leadership team for meetings, video conferences, reports and presentations as requested. Occasional early morning and evening meeting interpretation will be required. 
• Position reports to CE Division Director and receives projects and work direction and feedback from Kubota expats.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications: 

• Conversational skills and written knowledge of Japanese and English manufacturing, production, warehouse and paint terminology, phrases and acronyms. 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in both Japanese and English
• Strong understanding of linguistic nuances and cultural dynamics
• Availability to travel internationally, as required (up to 5%) 
• Proven experience in translating and interpreting various types of content
• Experience with different types of interpretation, including simultaneous, consecutive, whispering and sight-translation
• Education or work experience in language-related fields such as teaching, language assessment, translation or interpretation preferred
• Excellent listening, retention and note-taking skills to maintain a high level of accuracy during interpretation
• Availability outside of typical working hours for meetings hosted from other time zones

At Great Plains Manufacturing, our people make the difference, making our company a great place to work and grow. If you are self-motivated, have a passion to succeed and value teamwork, we invite you to apply to join our team. For over 45 years, Great Plains Mfg, has been known as a world-class manufacturer of agriculture, farm and landscaping equipment in Central Kansas. Now a Kubota company, we have recently added a new construction equipment division. With over 2,300 dedicated employees, Great Plains Manufacturing continues its dedication toward innovation and professional growth, while maintaining our family culture and community values. Grow with us! Visit our Careers page at www.WorkForGPM.com.