Job Description:
Business Overview
Rakuten is one of the biggest marketplace of Japan and is the largest internet ecosystem with a wide range of services ranging from e-Commerce, Travel, Banking, Fintech, Food Delivery, Golf, Insurance, Instant Messaging, Mobile Network etc. Rakuten has over 140 services globally. Our mission is to empower people and society through the internet while aiming at becoming the Global Innovation Company.
Department Overview
The Agent Experience (AGEX) team is pioneering the development of Rakuten AI Companion and AI Composer: two complementary AI initiatives designed to transform how users engage with the Rakuten ecosystem and beyond.
The Rakuten AI Companion is a next-generation personal assistant that supports a wide range of user needs, from navigating Rakuten’s services to assisting with everyday goals. Built with a user-centric and task-oriented approach, it delivers an experience that is intuitive, helpful, and truly personal: empowering users across all aspects of their digital lives.
Running in parallel, the AI Composer is engineered to infuse seamless AI-driven experiences across Rakuten’s product ecosystem: generally, contextually, and personally.
By embedding intelligence into user touchpoints, AI Composer ensures that every interaction feels natural, anticipatory, and deeply integrated with individual needs.
Together, AI Companion and AI Composer form the foundation of Rakuten’s next-generation AI Agent Experience: intelligent, adaptive, and human-centered.
Position:
Why We Hire
We're seeking a Product Manager to lead the strategic development of Rakuten's culturally-intelligent native AI user experience for the Japanese market. You'll drive the product strategy for Rakuten AI Companion that understands Japanese culture, values, and everyday life through immersive companionship. From recommending recipes with locally-available ingredients to providing culturally-appropriate fashion and social advice, you'll ensure our AI resonates authentically with Japanese users.
Position Details
Your mission is to create a "sticky" product that becomes indispensable in users' daily lives. Working closely with our engineering and data science teams, you'll translate insights about Japanese consumer behavior into product roadmaps. You'll collaborate across Rakuten teams on user research, define features that delight and retain users, and work hands-on with our technical teams to build an AI that feels genuinely Japanese.
This role sits at the intersection of product strategy, cultural insight, and technical execution: perfect for someone passionate about creating AI experiences that truly understand local context and user needs.
Responsibiities
- User Research & Product Definition
Conduct research to understand user needs. Translate findings into product requirements, user stories, and prototypes.
- Product Development Management
Manage the product development lifecycle from design to launch, ensuring on-time delivery.
- Communication & Collaboration
Act as the primary point of contact, facilitating communication and alignment between stakeholders/business units.
- Issue Resolution & Optimization
Identify and resolve development issues. Collaborate to improve product performance.
- Product Planning & Iteration
Gather requirements, prioritize features, and develop product roadmaps.
- Data Analysis & Insights
Track and analyze product data to identify areas for improvement and inform future development.
Mandatory Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree or above in computer science or related engineering disciplines: more than 2 years of work experience in internet mobile applications.
- Passionate about the AI industry, keeping up with the latest trends and technical developments in the industry, and continuously learning and improving professional knowledge and skills.
- Strong comprehension, logical analysis, and verbal communication skills, able to clearly articulate requirements.
- Familiar with the overall production process of internet mobile products, having participated in the completion of projects from 0 to 1, including demand analysis, product design, technical development, and testing acceptance: capable of independently leading and completing product output.
- Fluent in Japanese and English.
Desired Qualifications:
- Have experience working on LLM-centric applications.
Other Information:
Additional information on Location
Rakuten Crimson House (Head Office)
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Languages:
English (Overall - 4 - Fluent), Japanese (Overall - 4 - Fluent)