Senior Researcher, Consumer Insights - Japan
Netflix · Tokyo
Netflix is one of the world's leading entertainment services, with over 300 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, films and games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can play, pause and resume watching as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, and can change their plans at any time.
At Netflix, we are shaping the future of entertainment by rethinking how the world discovers and experiences stories. As the industry evolves—from on-demand viewing to live events, new formats, and diversified monetization—understanding audiences deeply and connecting that understanding to decisions has never been more critical.
In Japan—one of Netflix’s most important and distinctive markets globally—this requires more than market knowledge. It demands a nuanced understanding of local audiences, creative communities, and cultural dynamics, and the ability to turn that into clear strategic direction for the business.
About this role
In this role, you will lead Consumer Insights (CI) for Japan, informing both the direction of the business and execution of key projects across Content (anime, live action, unscripted, live/sports) and increasingly Commerce and Product. You will help shape how Netflix identifies and creates “must-watch” moments, and how those moments drive audience growth and engagement.
This is a senior Consumer Insights leadership role in the market. The expectation is to operate as a strategic thinking partner to senior leaders—shaping how consumer understanding informs decisions, alongside delivering high-quality research.
You will own the end-to-end leadership of a thoughtfully constructed portfolio of work—ranging from high-impact strategic initiatives to more immediate business needs—based on what will drive the most value for the Japan business. This includes defining the right questions, driving research and synthesis, and ensuring insights land in decision-making forums with clear implications and actions.
The bar is on clarity of thinking, depth of insight, and business impact—rather than simply volume of output. A core part of the role is exercising strong judgment in shaping the right portfolio of work: balancing immediate business needs with longer-term, higher-impact opportunities, and making deliberate prioritization calls where needed.
Success in this role requires a deep and instinctive understanding of Japan—its audiences, media habits, and creative ecosystem—as well as the judgment to connect local nuance to broader strategic implications. Experience in entertainment, media, or advertising research is highly valuable, given the close connection between consumer insight and creative decision-making in this space.
What We’re Looking For
Contextual Fit
Over 10 years of significant experience living and working in Japan in a senior research / insights capacity
Native fluency Japanese and Business fluent in English
Comfortable operating within Netflix’s culture of high ownership, candor, and autonomy
Brings a deep, instinctive understanding of the Japanese consumer, media landscape, and creative ecosystem, and can turn that into business-relevant implications
Strategic Ownership & Judgment
Operates as a strategic thinking partner to senior business leaders, shaping decisions rather than executing requests
Defines the most important consumer questions for the market and proactively identifies where insights can drive impact
Demonstrates strong prioritization and judgment in shaping a balanced portfolio of work—knowing when to lean into deeper strategic initiatives and when to support more immediate, high-value business needs
Brings a clear voice in setting direction and identifying new strategic opportunities
Stakeholder Trust & Influence
Builds strong, trusted relationships across Content, Strategy, Product, Marketing/PR, Partnerships, and other cross-functional teams
Comfortable operating across different stakeholder levels, including senior leaders and external partners (e.g., studios, production)
Communicates clearly and proactively, ensuring insights are understood, adopted, and used
Works collaboratively without operating in silos, while maintaining an independent Consumer Insight perspective
End-to-End Consumer Insight Initiative Leadership
Proven track record of leading end-to-end Consumer Insight initiatives, including both strategic projects and high-impact business-driven work:
problem framing
stakeholder alignment
research design and execution
synthesis and landing insights into decisions
Ensures work is timely, well-structured, and action-oriented, with clear impact on business outcomes
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving clarity across cross-functional teams
Insight Craft & Synthesis
Strong ability to turn consumer understanding into clear, compelling insights and recommendations that shape strategy
Able to move beyond individual studies when needed, synthesizing across signals, titles, and data sources into forward-looking narratives
Deep expertise in primary research (qualitative and quantitative), with strong judgment on when and how to apply each
Solid grounding in secondary data and business metrics to contextualize findings
Operating Model & Ways of Working
Operates effectively in a lean, high-impact environment, balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution
Designs work around business priorities and decisions, not just research outputs
Exercises strong autonomy while staying closely connected to regional and global context
Leverages GenAI tools pragmatically to enhance research, synthesis, and stakeholder communication
Represents Japan within APAC Consumer Insights and the global Data & Insights organization, proactively bringing Japan perspectives into regional and global discussions to inform broader strategy
Mentors and develops the Japan team, providing clear direction, feedback, and coaching to the researcher to ensure strong delivery and continued capability growth
Essential Qualifications
Significant experience in Consumer Insights, ideally within entertainment, media, creative or technology environments
Proven experience operating in a fast-paced, highly cross-functional, and globally distributed organization
Strong foundation in both qualitative and quantitative research, with the ability to partner effectively with analytics and data science teams
Demonstrated ability to operate with high autonomy and ownership in ambiguous and evolving business contexts
Inclusion is a Netflix value and we strive to host a meaningful interview experience for all candidates. If you want an accommodation/adjustment for a disability or any other reason during the hiring process, please send a request to your recruiting partner.
We are an equal-opportunity employer and celebrate diversity, recognizing that diversity builds stronger teams. We approach diversity and inclusion seriously and thoughtfully. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, ancestry, national origin, caste, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, age, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic makeup, marital status, or military service.
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