at Rakuten
Full TimeJob Description:
Rakuten Group has a customer base of approximately 100 million people in Japan and 1 billion globally, providing over 70 services, including e-commerce, payment services, financial services, telecommunications, media, and sports.
The AI Services Supervisory Department (AISSD) is responsible for promoting AI initiatives across Rakuten Group. This department brings together outstanding international talent to offer cutting-edge AI technologies. AISSD promotes the Triple 20 initiative (20% efficiency improvement in marketing, operations, and client interactions) and is expanding its AI applications across Rakuten Group companies.
The AI & Data Consulting Department (AIDC) leverages Rakuten's extensive data and cutting-edge AI technologies to solve business challenges through consulting, project initiation, and management. This role specifically supports AI adoption among Rakuten's Fintech companies (Rakuten Card, Rakuten Payment, Rakuten Bank, Rakuten Securities, Rakuten Life Insurance, Rakuten General Insurance, Rakuten Insurance Planning).
Your primary mission will be planning and leading Vertical AI projects specialized for the Fintech industry by integrating our data and AI technologies with those of our Fintech companies. You will create innovative AI products and solutions to address their business challenges.
- Conduct interviews and understand business challenges, KPIs, AI strategies, and data overviews from Fintech companies.
- Stay updated with the latest AI technologies and internal AI capabilities.
- Based on the above, design, build, and drive Vertical AI products and solutions.
Initially, you will join as an individual contributor and, depending on performance and suitability, may transition into a managerial or vice-managerial role in the future.
- Interviews and Information Gathering:
- Interview key personnel to capture business challenges, KPIs, AI strategies, and data summaries; document meeting minutes.
- Analysis and Identification of Issues:
- Analyze interview results to identify common and unique challenges, relationships with KPIs, and data requirements.
- Research on Latest AI Technologies:
- Investigate recent AI trends from academic papers and industry news; evaluate applicability to Fintech domains.
- Assessment of Internal AI Capabilities:
- Understand and assess internal AI technologies' overview and performance, comparing them with latest external advancements.
- Planning and Execution of Vertical AI Solutions:
- Propose Vertical AI solutions based on collected insights.
- Define project goals, scope, and roadmaps.
- Project Implementation, Evaluation, and Improvement:
- Lead discussions, stakeholder management, problem-solving, and development.
- Execute project plans, validate effectiveness through PoCs, establish improvement cycles, and aim for production deployment.
- At least 5 years experience in the financial industry (preferably in card, payment, banking, securities, or insurance sectors) or experience in consulting, product development, or service provision to financial institutions.
- Minimum 3 years experience in digital transformation (DX), software development, or AI project initiation and management. Experience leading cross-departmental projects is advantageous.
- Fundamental knowledge and eagerness to continuously learn about software engineering, machine learning, deep learning, and LLM.
- Proven ability to actively engage various teams, including sales, marketing, compliance, engineering, and data science, to drive projects and solve issues.
- Native-level Japanese with excellent written and verbal communication skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to clearly convey complex information and facilitate consensus.
- Experience in the card or payment industry (QR code payments).
- Experience in sales or customer success roles targeting corporate clients, especially enterprise-level.
- Experience in domestic or international tech startups, particularly early-stage ventures.
- Experience launching products or businesses from 0 to 1, especially involving strategic planning, execution, and growth.
- Proficiency in English (equivalent to TOEIC 800 or above). Equivalent skill levels are also acceptable.
Languages:
English (Overall - 3 - Advanced), Japanese (Overall - 4 - Fluent)
