Growth Operations Manager - Tech

Who you are

You’re a builder — not just of products, but of businesses. You move fluidly between technical problem-solving and strategic thinking. You’re eager to work from zero-to-one, but equally invested in creating systems that scale.

You have a background in software engineering, data, AI/ML, or product development, and you’re now looking for something more entrepreneurial. You want to use your technical strengths to shape meaningful businesses with long-term potential.

Traits we look for:

Our values guide how we build, decide, and work together. Here’s how they show up in this role:

• Customers are our obsession
  You care about solving real problems, not just writing code. You start with the user, test fast, and adapt to what you learn.

• Everything is possible
  You bring creative solutions to complex challenges. You move past blockers and prototype paths forward, even in ambiguous environments.

• Strength in diversity
  You work across disciplines and value perspectives beyond your own. You build for users with different needs and collaborate with teams from all backgrounds.

• Grit
  You’re energised by hard problems. You take ownership, keep going when things break, and balance speed with care.

• Energy and execution
  You move quickly and build iteratively. You know when to hack and when to invest — and you always push toward outcomes.

• Curiosity enables potential
  You stay on top of emerging technologies and think critically about how to apply them. You ask the questions that uncover what others miss.

• Pragmatic about purpose
  You want to do your life’s work with the right people. You care about building meaningful products and companies with long-term alignment, not short-term hype.

About the role

WAY is a company builder focused on long-term, technology-enabled business creation. As a Growth Operations Manager – Tech, you’ll work alongside business leaders, designers, and researchers to shape early-stage products and validate opportunities.

This role is ideal for someone who wants to apply their technical skills toward business building and is open to taking on future leadership roles such as CTO, CPO, or CEO. You'll be hands-on in product development, while also contributing to broader strategy and direction.

What you will do

• Design and build prototypes, MVPs, and internal tools to validate and scale early-stage opportunities

• Collaborate closely with business and product partners to test hypotheses and deliver usable solutions

• Leverage AI and emerging technologies to improve product capabilities, workflows, and user value

• Conduct technical due diligence and assess the feasibility of new business ideas

• Continuously explore automation opportunities to reduce friction and increase leverage

• Support portfolio companies with technical insight, rapid prototyping, or integration work where needed

• Take calculated risks and run technical experiments to accelerate learning and differentiation

• Contribute to a culture of knowledge sharing, clean architecture, and rapid iteration

How we work with AI

At WAY, we believe AI is not just a tool — it's a competitive edge. Everyone on the team, regardless of role, is expected to:

• Identify and automate parts of your job that can be made more efficient using AI.

• Experiment with AI tools to increase productivity, improve quality, and unlock new ideas.

• Share what you learn with your teammates so we all get better, faster.

Who we are looking for

• 3+ years of experience in software engineering, AI/ML, data, or technical product development

• Proven ability to ship products and solve real-world problems with code

• Strong technical fundamentals and an ability to move between frontend, backend, or platform as needed

• Experience with generative AI tools, APIs, and product design is a strong plus

• Business-level English is required; Japanese proficiency is a plus, but not required

• You think like a builder, act like an owner, and want to be part of a high-trust, high-leverage team