Meet Priya & Tony — Directors of Taiwan Chinese-English Interpretation & Translation team in Taiwan

Priya: Hi, my name is Priya, I’m Director of Interpretation, leading the Taiwan Chinese-English Interpretation and Translation (TCEIT) team at Coupang. I’m originally from India, but I came to Taiwan as a teenager and have been living here since. I grew up speaking English and learned Mandarin in Taiwan during my school years. I’m currently fluent in 4 languages, including two Indian languages (Hindi & Sindhi). 

Before joining Coupang 6 months ago, my career was essentially in freelance interpretation and translation.   

After working office jobs for a few years post-graduation until 1997, I switched to freelance interpretation. In 2021, I got an interpretation degree. After interpreting for 15 years, I completed the PhD program of the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU)’s Graduate Institute of Translation & Interpretation (GITI), the top interpretation program in Taiwan. Overall, my freelance experience spans over the past 20 years during which I started my own language services company.   

Tony: Hi, I’m Tony. I’m also Director of Interpretation of the TCEIT team. Just like Priya, I’ve been with Coupang almost 6 months. We both joined on the same day and are co-directors of the team.   

My journey to Interpretation is a bit different from a classic path. My interest in English first started when I was sent to the US to live with my aunt.  I attended school at the time with a focus on science, this is where I first started learning English. I then returned to Taiwan for college to attend the National Taiwan University (NTU), majoring in English in the Department of Foreign Language and Literatures. After my sophomore year I enrolled in the translation program and started my journey as an interpreter. After graduation, I served in the military and then attended NTU’s Graduate Program in Translation and Interpretation (GPTI).  

Prior to joining Coupang, I worked mainly as a freelance interpreter for a bit over 10 years, working with corporate clients in various fields such pharmaceuticals, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), government agencies, NGOs, and many more. Coupang is my first career experience where I get to work in-house in a corporate setting.  

Tony: After the 10-year mark of freelance, I realized that I hit a plateau. Work felt repetitive. You still meet new clients and get to work on new topics, but the work got stale. While I was looking for new opportunities, I got contacted by Jackie, who’s also a friend of mine, from the Recruiting team on Instagram. Coupang Taiwan was hiring a Director of Interpretation, and she was asking me for recommendation but then I volunteered. It had been a long time since I interviewed but went in with an open mind to learn more about the company.  While interviewing with leaders in Coupang, I was persuaded.  I became curious about what it was like to work at Coupang, especially since it’s a management role, I would be able to hone my skills as someone who needs to communicate, coach people and help them grow. Joining the team was a good opportunity to step out of my comfort zone. 

Priya: I can relate to Tony. Jackie also convinced me to join. I was also at the point where I felt like I did everything I could do as a freelance interpreter. Working in-house was different from freelance; it offered stability. Freelance has some excitement to it, but ultimately Coupang offered both — a challenging environment with new challenges but also stability. The timing felt right for stability where I could spend time with family. There are not many foreigners that are interpreters here in Taiwan. Since I was Indian and Coupang has global talents joining the company from all over the world, including India, I felt that I filled a niche. Since I have joined, I have been able to help with communication with diverse stakeholders, including an Indian vendor where I got to use my knowledge of Hindi and Chinese during a meeting.  

What is a typical day for a Coupang Taiwan interpreter? What capabilities are essential for Coupang's Interpretation team?   

Tony: A typical day for our Individual Contributors (IC) on our team is to mostly interpret. In the morning, when our team comes in, they check CouIST, Coupang’s interpretation scheduling system, to see what their schedule looks like for the day, then they prepare for the meeting, what might be discussed. We also communicate with stakeholders to relay messages and get filled in on what happened in the case of weekly meetings where some updates might be discussed. In between meetings, we do some translation work, maintain a glossary, learn about relevant topics, and we encourage our team members to observe from their seniors. 

Priya: For interpretation, being fluent in both languages and having technical skills is key but we are also looking for talents who are proactive, curious, eager to learn and willing to go above and beyond. The willingness and ability to be flexible and a team player is also something we look for. 

Since you’ve joined, what has helped you the most in discovering your potential at Coupang? 

Priya: I am still learning and discovering work in-house in a management position. I did not realize how much goes behind the management of a team. I have to manage expectations and meet not only the needs of stakeholders, but also the needs of our team. As the manager, I need to be the middle ground.  

Tony: Coming from freelance, where I was on my own, becoming a manager has been challenging. Managing people and a team has taught me about myself, I learn more every day, I can see my own weaknesses and what I need to improve to become a better manager for our team.  It’s a learning curve. There is no “Learn how to be a manager 101” class to become the perfect manager, but since I’ve joined, I hope I’ve gotten better and I’m continuously growing. 

Do you think Coupang has also gone through a change since you’ve first joined?  

Tony: Just like Coupang Taiwan is growing, in terms of size and scale, our team is also expanding rapidly. We welcome new joiners almost every month. This is essential since we have a surge of interpretation demand with a number of global talents joining the company.  

Priya: Yes, “always changing” is definitely an accurate way to describe Coupang. New ideas, new teams, new people, new goals, all these keep things fresh and exciting. There is never a dull moment here.  

Priya: Yes, it does. Coupang leadership believes that language should not be a barrier. Hiring interpreters ensures that everyone’s voice is heard. As Interpreters, we make sure that communication is seamless regardless of the language differences. Stakeholders are very impressed with the interpretation support we provide and are always very appreciative. It is rewarding to see the respect our team gets from the various business departments.  

Tony: Yes, definitely. At Coupang, we hire the best talent, and as interpreters our role is to support the business and our teams’ global members. As Interpreters, we are ‘jack of all trades’. We also provide our support to our external stakeholders. I recently supported a third-party marketplace project where our business stakeholders had vendor visits. In those situations, I represent the company as my role is to help build relationships, find ways to build rapport with them, and sometimes even help with the ice breaking before the business talk. Vendors thank me for my work and for enabling seamless communication.  

What are you looking forward to the most with Coupang?   

Priya: If there is an opportunity, I would like to go to Korea to meet the Interpretation and Translation teams in Seoul to see how things are set up and how they work. I’m looking forward to expanding the team here in Taiwan. We aim to build a strong team that can become a role model that other companies aspire to be. Here at Coupang, interpretation is central to the business, and very cross functional in our collaborations between departments and global offices. 

Tony: My long-term goal, just as Priya mentioned, is to build our team. Within the interpretation field, there are stereotypes or misconceptions that all the best interpreters are in freelance and that others settle in-house. I want to break that image and inspire the best interpreting talents to come to Coupang and grow as strong interpreters in the industry. I want people to one day say that “all the best interpreters are at Coupang.” 

Priya: If you have a ‘Company-wide Perspective’, the necessary language training, interpretation experience and are willing to learn in an ever-growing environment, come join us.   

Tony: We are looking for talents with interpretation skills who are eager to ‘Learn Voraciously’, be flexible, and be ready for new challenges. As a Coupang Interpreter, you will be here to communicate, facilitate, and help the business grow in Taiwan.