Sr. Manager, Software Engineering

Job Description:

Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to 2 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has around 30,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

Job Summary:
 

Rakuten Americas’ AI & Data Division (AIDD) is seeking a passionate and experienced Sr. Manager, Software Engineering to play a pivotal role in bridging business needs with cutting-edge AI capabilities. As part of AIDD, our mission is to build world-class AI experiences that serve as the digital core for Rakuten’s global ecosystem. In this role, you will work on AI for agents, search, recommendation, personalization, and the broader customer experience — delivering meaningful impact for nearly 2 billion Rakuten users. You’ll join a team inspired by our CEO’s passion and strategic direction: “No AI, No Rakuten.” This mindset means that AI is not an optional extra—it’s at the heart of everything we do.

In this role, you will lead a team of engineers to deliver high-quality, scalable, and innovative AI solutions that align with business objectives. You will take ownership of the planning, design, development, and deployment of global projects, ensuring timelines and quality standards are met. You will grow and mentor your team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. You will define technical strategies, managing stakeholder expectations, and ensuring adherence to best practices in software development. By leveraging your leadership and deep technical expertise, you will drive operational excellence and contribute to the organization's technological advancements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor a high-performing team of software engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous learning, including performance management and career development.
• Drive the end-to-end software development lifecycle for AI-powered products and features, from architectural design and technical specification to implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing maintenance.
• Define and implement technical strategies and best practices for building scalable, reliable, and secure AI systems, ensuring alignment with AIDD's overall architectural vision.
• Collaborate closely with Product Management, Design, Data Science, and Research teams to translate business needs and research insights into actionable engineering roadmaps and deliver robust, user-centric AI solutions and products
• Oversee project planning, resource allocation, and execution, ensuring timely delivery, adherence to quality standards, and effective mitigation of technical risks for global AI initiatives.
• Champion modern engineering practices including robust coding standards, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and comprehensive monitoring for AI/ML systems.
• Ensure operational excellence of deployed AI solutions, addressing performance, scalability, and stability requirements in a production environment.
• Communicate technical direction, progress, and challenges effectively to stakeholders across various departments and leadership levels.
• Recruit, develop, and retain top engineering talent across global teams.
• Collaborate effectively across time zones and cultures, managing distributed engineering teams.
• Be willing and able to travel for business, as required.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
 

• Proven track record of successfully leading, mentoring, and scaling high-performing software engineering teams specifically focused on the development and delivery of AI/ML-powered products or platforms.
• Deep expertise in the full software development lifecycle (SDLC) within an AI/ML context, including architectural design, robust coding standards, CI/CD, automated testing, monitoring, and operational excellence for large-scale production systems.
• Strong technical acumen and hands-on experience in building and deploying AI/ML systems, with specific proficiency in areas such as Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs), conversational AI, se