About the Opportunity
Job Type: Permanent
Application Deadline: 30 May 2026
Job Description
Title Digital Asset Product Lead
Department Product Development and Management, Japan
Location Tokyo, Japan
Reports To Head of Product and Marketing, Japan (with dotted-line reporting to Head of Global Digital Assets)
Level Associate Director / Director
We’re proud to have been helping our clients build better financial futures for over 50 years. How have we achieved this? By working together - and supporting each other - all over the world. So, join our Japan Product team and feel like you are part of something bigger.
About our team
Japan Product Development and Management team has a clear mandate to provide a high-quality product strategy that positions FIL’s Japan Business for growth in an evolving competitive environment. The development, iteration, and syndication of our Product Strategies will transpire through effective collaboration with our distribution teams, our investment teams as well as with a range of internal and external stakeholders. The team is responsible for product related decision making, life-cycle range management, market insights as well as supporting local distribution strategies.
About your role
This is a senior product leadership role to develop and own FIJ’s digital asset product roadmap, with an initial focus on crypto ETF launch readiness and execution as regulation permits, while also leading broader digital asset initiatives such as tokenised products.
Japan’s digital asset market is expected to enter a structural inflection period, with legal amendments expected in 2026 (effective Jan 2028) and tax reform under discussion that may shift crypto gains from aggregate taxation (15–55%) to a flat c.20% aligned with equities — materially improving after-tax attractiveness and enabling regulated structures such as ETFs.
The successful candidate will act as the single product owner and coordination point for digital assets in Japan, working closely with global Digital Asset and ETF colleagues to align with global product strategies and leverage specialist expertise.
Key Responsibilities
- Own Japan digital asset product strategy and roadmap: Define and maintain a forward-looking roadmap across crypto-related products, crypto ETFs, tokenised funds/products, and related digital asset initiatives.
- Lead crypto ETF product development readiness: Drive product structuring, feasibility assessment, and end-to-end execution planning to ensure FIJ is ready to launch crypto ETF solutions as regulation permits (from Jan 2028), including governance and operating model design.
- Product structuring & execution: Lead cross-functional delivery across Legal/Compliance, Risk, Operations, Technology, Investment Management, and distribution stakeholders, ensuring disciplined execution and strong product governance.
- Global alignment and leverage of expertise: Partner closely with global Digital Asset and ETF teams to align local strategy with global product direction, share best practices, and accelerate delivery through reuse of global expertise and frameworks.
- Regulatory, tax, and market engagement: Monitor and interpret Japan regulatory/tax developments relevant to digital assets and ETFs; translate changes into product implications, launch pathways, and risk-managed execution plans.
- Spokesperson / thought leadership (as appropriate): Represent FIJ’s digital asset product strategy internally and externally (as appropriate), supporting consistent articulation of FIJ capability and positioning with key stakeholders.
- Build durable capability: Establish repeatable processes, documentation, and stakeholder rhythms that reduce execution risk and create sustainable in-house capability for digital assets and ETF-related delivery over time.
About you
The ideal candidate possesses the following skills and experience:
- Deep digital assets product expertise (e.g., crypto investment products, regulated wrappers, custody/operating models, tokenisation use cases) and the judgment to lead complex, novel initiatives.
- Ability to quickly build applied expertise in ETFs, including listed product mechanics, governance, and end-to-end launch execution, leveraging global ETF specialists where appropriate.
- Strong understanding of Japan regulatory and tax environment and the ability to translate policy developments into product strategy and execution plans.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional, multi-stakeholder delivery in a large global organization, with strong project/program management discipline.
- Exceptional communication skills in Japanese and English (oral and written), able to influence senior stakeholders and represent product strategy credibly.
- Self-starter with entrepreneurial, proactive attitude; comfortable operating in ambiguity and building new capability.