A Brisbane man who went missing last week at a snow town in Japan helped develop a satellite tracking device for skiers which could have led searchers straight to him.

Former colleagues said it was unlikely Scott McKay was wearing one of the Flaik transmitters, which uses GPS technology to allow ski instructors to monitor up to 45,000 skiers in real time.

Scott McKay ... grave fears.

Mr McKay, 27, was the one-time vice president of SnowSports Interactive, the Queensland company which developed the Flaik device.

The IT specialist also helped to road-test it at ski resorts overseas.