About us
Our mission is to become the de facto way people learn foreign languages. We begin by teaching the next billion people English and Spanish.
English is the global language of business, culture, and communication, and over 1.5 billion people around the world are actively trying to learn right now. Others dream of communicating with the half-billion native Spanish speakers across the globe. The problem is that it’s nearly impossible to learn to speak a language without constant access to a speaking partner. Grammar and vocab apps don’t really help – you need to actually converse with someone.
Speak is on a journey to fix this. We’re creating an AI-powered experience that replicates the flow of a conversation, without needing a human on the other end. The goal is to make it radically more accessible to be able to have conversations in a foreign language and eventually help hundreds of millions of people gain fluency who otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
We started on this journey over five years ago and we’ve still got a long ways to go. We’re thoughtfully adding new team members only when we think they can truly play a big role in our mission.
Speak launched first in South Korea where we have quickly grown to become the top grossing education app in the country. We have now delivered this winning product to more than 30 countries globally and are continuing to expand to more markets in the coming months. The company is well funded, raising a recent Series B backed by investors like OpenAI, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Lachy Groom, Josh Buckley, and others. We’re a team of 60 based primarily in SF, Seoul, Tokyo, and Ljubljana.
We are seeking actors to appear in our app-based video lessons as language teachers (watch the sample video below under each role for reference). In these video lessons, you’ll be seated behind a table facing a camera and deliver pre-written scripts explaining language concepts and phrases for learners. While these lessons are not live, they are interactive. Scripts also contain questions to the user and a variety of responses based on their performance. When a user goes through a video lesson, the video recording of your teaching will play, along with opportunities for the app user to practice the language you are teaching.
Bilingual Japanese teachers will act out scripts that teach English to speakers of Japanese.
Notes:
Actors for this role must be bilingual in Japanese and English.
Rather than a school-teacher, you will portray a professional perhaps in a different industry other than education, who is excited that their friend has decided to learn a new language (think helpful, friendly vibes rather than a strict teacher vibe).
We have a strong preference for native Japanese speakers and/or heritage Japanese speakers. Those who learned Japanese in high school or college will not qualify.
We want the Japanese to be delivered in a neutral Japanese accent.
Actors should not have an accent when speaking English.
Example Video:
https://youtu.be/_l9U-4Qly6k?si=wdMPBqj4GVQB3TKx
How to audition: See Full Instructions
Why work at Speak
Join a fantastic, tight-knit team at the right time: we’re growing very quickly, we’ve raised our Series B and an additional extension 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.
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.
Global in nature: We’re live in over 40 countries and launching in a number of new markets soon. We have dedicated offices in San Francisco, Ljubljana, Seoul, and Tokyo, and you’ll have the opportunity to talk to users in each of these regions on a regular basis as well as travel.
Impact people’s lives in a major way: Learning a language is one of the single most life-changing skills one can learn, and right now 99% of people never achieve their goal because the process is broken. We’re helping millions of people achieve their goals and improve their lives.
Speak does not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
