Job Description

About Recursive

As the world's population grows, we are facing a number of global challenges in the realms of environmental conservation, societal equity and ensuring that nobody is left behind in the transition to a digital economy. Artificial intelligence is a key technology to not only address some symptoms of these issues, but also helping create completely new innovative approaches that can create a more sustainable economy and lifestyle.

Recursive is an Applied AI consulting company based in Japan working on developing solutions to some of these challenging problems. We collaborate with large Japanese enterprises to create innovative solutions to sustainability challenges, merging in our expertise in AI research and our client's domain knowledge. Our development projects focus around the main themes of improving efficiency, accelerating innovation, risk mitigation and better work and education.

Recursive is founded by Tiago Ramalho and Katsutoshi Yamada in 2020. Tiago was a Senior Research Engineer at Google Deepmind and Lead Research scientist at Cogent labs and brings years of machine learning expertise to the company. Katsutoshi is a serial entrepreneur and AI expert with experience in developing and establishing innovative business models in Japan and abroad.

Building on its previous successes, Recursive is now looking to grow and expand its impact further. Visit our homepage to learn more about Recursive.

Recursive’s Mission

At Recursive, our mission is to attract individuals who share our passion for our core purpose: to create a fairer, more sustainable society through the power of Artificial Intelligence.

Our Mission:
・Why: To build a fairer, more sustainable society.
・ How By transforming our clients into AI-first businesses.
・ What Through AI technology development and consulting.

In pursuit of this mission, Recursive has distinguished itself in several key areas:
・Cutting-Edge AI Application: We excel in translating state-of-the-art AI research into practical applications. This is achieved through strong connections with academic machine learning research, a commitment to understanding client data and requirements, and seamless integration with client businesses.
・Generative AI Innovation: We launched a Generative AI solution to the market just as the field was gaining momentum, having initiated development in early 2022.
・Enterprise AI Solutions: We introduced FindFlow only six months after ChatGPT's release, enhancing the application of large language models for enterprise use and enabling access to private enterprise data with Generative AI.
・Pioneering Environmental AI: Recursive is the first Japanese company to employ Physics-Inspired Neural Networks for simulating environmental systems We aim to use these methods to transform environmental management and promote renewable energy adoption. Learn more about this project by watching our presentation at the Google Cloud for Sustainability event.

Recursive’s Culture

Ultimately, the value of a company is the result of the collective actions of its passionate members. At Recursive we want to focus on creating an incredible working environment where talented individuals can come together to work hard on solving real-world problems.

When it comes to culture, we know that there is no way to suit everyone’s tastes. Almost everyone has a passion, but not all passions align. And the same is true for Recursive.
We aim to build a work environment that is ideal for a particular kind of person:
・ Challenger Mentality Those who like to solve hard problems and try to go beyond their current abilities
・ Leadership those who take the initiative and fix problems on their own
・ Trust & Cooperation those who seek to work with a team of talented individuals they can trust
・ Impact those who want to feel like their work is having impact on others/the world Recursive can only work when we take collaboration to be our top priority.

Our workplace has zero tolerance for harassment or toxic behavior, deliberate bad performance, as well as any behaviors that undermine the culture we wish to create. We will only be able to achieve the goals of closing more impactful projects, and achieving “kandou” for the ones we are executing, if all teams come together and collaborate.
We want to use our diversity of cultures and experiences as a strength instead of a weakness. Given that we are still a small company, everyone’s actions matter, and we place top priority in ensuring that our culture (i.e. the actions of our members) reflects our values.
That means that it is not enough to simply write down a document with what we believe our culture is, but in a nutshell, actively rewarding behaviors that are consistent with the culture and disincentivizing behaviors that go against the culture that we want to build.

Recursive’s Employment Framework

・Contract Structure: Recursive provides one year fixed term contracts for all new employees. The contracts are converted into permanent contracts upon new members meeting Recursive standards and contributing effectively to Recursive’s success.

・ Flexible Work Hours Recursive operates on a flex system with the core hours of 10:00 - 16:00. The flexible work hours fosters a supportive environment that accommodates diverse employee needs while ensuring effective team collaboration during core hours.

・ Hybrid Work: Experience the best of both worlds with our hybrid work model, offering up to three days of remote work and two days in our Shibuya office.

・ Comprehensive Leave Policy Enjoy public holidays, winter break, 20 days of paid annual leave, 5 days of sick leave along with special leave for bereavement and paid parental care.

・ Enriching Welfare Programs Take advantage of our diverse welfare programs such as health insurance, annual health checkups, employee’s welfare pension, accident and unemployment insurance, paid parental leave, caregiving leave, babysitter voucher program, team-building allowances, skill development and language learning support, relocation assistance, and visa application support.

・ Supportive Benefits Access a range of benefits including commuting allowance, referral bonus, employee invention profit share program, and stock option plan for eligible roles.

・ Open to Side Projects While side jobs are generally not allowed, we are open to discussions based on individual circumstances, fostering a supportive and flexible work culture. Some of our members teach at universities, contribute to non-profit organizations, or engage in pet projects that improve their knowledge and skillsets.

Responsibilities

Client/Account Relationship

• Identify and engage with existing and/or future clients to co-develop innovative, AI-powered sustainable solutions, as well as supporting the advancement of joint projects.
• Own the client relationship and account, acting as the primary Client Shield and leading all external commercial negotiation for scope, price, and terms.
• Maintain smooth communication with clients to ensure alignment.

Solution Scoping and Project Execution Oversight

• Conduct deep discovery to understand client needs, translating them into detailed, commercially viable proposals.
• Develop comprehensive project plans, including resource all schedules, and budgets. Manage project resources, optimize efficiency and maximize outcomes.
• Drive and monitor project progress and provide regular updates to stakeholders. Communicate project risks, timeline impacts, and mitigation strategies to the client.

Cross-Functional Accountability

• Maintain clear and consistent communication with internal cross-functional stakeholders.
• Act as bridge between client’s business persons and internal technical teams.

Expectation

• Commercial Value: Achievement of revenue targets and adherence to minimum profitability levels
• Rigor: Ensure all deals successfully navigate the HS5/HS6 approval process with maximum rigor.
• Communication: Maintain clear and consistent communication with all internal and external stakeholders.
• Accountability: Act as the primary decision-maker for client needs and priorities.

Qualification

• 5 years of combined experience in roles such as Business Development, Enterprise Sales, Solution Architecture, Consulting, or Project Management.
• Proven track record of managing complex B2B engagements, ideally involving custom software development, AI/ML, or deep technology solutions.
• Familiarity with Agile development cycles and technical scoping processes (SOW creation, Epic definition, estimation).
• Language Skills
  • English Proficiency Level Professional (TOEFL 90+, TOEIC 750+)
  • Japanese Proficiency Level Professional (JLPT N2 or above)