Hi, I’m Magali.
My name comes from France, just like my mother. I, on the other hand, have spent most of my life in Germany. Growing up in a German-French household, I learned early on to liaise between two different languages and cultures. Now, as a freelance translator, I draw on this experience for every one of my projects.
I translate from English and French into German, with a focus on SEO and marketing texts.
Experience
I have more than 15 years of experience in translation, copywriting, and search engine optimization. I honed my craft at one of the largest German digital platforms, where I was employed for over 10 years.
There, I was trained to write well, both for people and for search engines. My tasks included things like developing new content formats and training our team of writers to create content for them.
It was here that I also discovered my love of editorial planning and process optimization. In my last role at the company, I was deputy editor-in-chief with joint responsibility for a team of 40 writers.
In collaboration with the editor-in-chief, I developed a new team structure, splitting the writers up into functional units. In parallel, we designed new workflows and introduced data-driven processes.
In my freelance work, I use these skills to manage my customers’ projects efficiently and ensure results of the highest quality.
- Native languages: German & French
- Master’s degree in German, English, and Romance languages
- State-certified translator
- Certified SEO manager
- 12 years in a permanent position at a major German online portal (approx. 6 million visits/month), first as a translator and writer, then as deputy editor-in-chief
- Self-employed as a freelance translator since 2010
“Growing up bilingually, I noticed very early on how words affect the way we think. Working out the USP for a product, developing a brand, and crafting its tone of voice is practically in my DNA.”
Professional Involvement
2019-2021
Presenter for Press & Public Relations, German Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators (BDÜ)
As a presenter for the BDÜ’s Regional Association North, I co-hosted a monthly online talk (Mittwochstalk) with my wonderful colleague Jessica Link, which we planned, organized, and moderated. We invited various members of the localization industry as guests and discussed a wide variety of topics, including machine translation, international search engine optimization, subtitling, interpreting for the film industry, and women in translation.
In addition, I organized a panel discussion on the topic of AI in translation with representatives from business, academia, and politics („Nach uns die KI“ — „After us, AI“). A report about the discussion was published in MDÜ (a publication by the BDÜ) and can be read here (in German).
Since 2022
LocLunch Berlin ambassador
LocLunch is a global community of localization enthusiasts who meet regularly in cities around the globe to share lunch and talk about localization and the world.
LocLunch was founded in 2019 by Jan Hinrichs. At this point, 248 ambassadors in 164 cities and 58 countries regularly organize LocLunches. I have the great fortune to co-organize LocLunch Berlin with Michele Cerioni, one of the very first LocLunch ambassadors.
Current information can be found here and on LinkedIn. Anyone interested in localization is warmly invited to stop by!
Our absolute highlight so far was the MegaLocLunch in June 2022, where more than 120 LocLunchers met at Café am Neuen See in Berlin. You can learn more about LocLunch and its philosophy in this article from MultiLingual.
Private life
I was always a cat person—that is, until Mango came into our lives. The exuberant border collie quickly captured the hearts of my family—and of my officemates. (Fortunately!) Mango and I go for long daily walks in the forest; those are the moments when my best ideas come bubbling to the surface.
Aside from that, I love acting (especially improv theater) and playing games on the PlayStation (especially post-apocalyptic games).
