Mid-Senior up to 15M Forward Deployed Engineer (AI Transformation)
Company: A leading Japanese fintech company (name withheld) Location: Tokyo, Japan (Hybrid — minimum 2 days/week in office, 3+ recommended) Employment Type: Full-time
About the Role
We're looking for a Forward Deployed Engineer to embed directly within our business units — including HR, Legal, Compliance, and IP — to discover, prototype, and validate AI-powered solutions to real operational challenges. This is a hands-on, 0→1 role: you'll run discovery workshops, define requirements, select technology, and build working proofs of concept (chatbots, AI agents, RAG systems) that demonstrate measurable business value.
Once a prototype proves out, a separate team takes it into production — so you stay focused on rapid experimentation and can work across multiple initiatives at once. This role sits at the intersection of technical depth and business fluency, translating stakeholder pain points into concrete AI solutions.
What You'll Do
- Run stakeholder interviews and workshops to uncover and structure business problems
- Define business and technical requirements; identify and assess data sources
- Evaluate and select appropriate technologies, including generative AI and LLMs, weighing feasibility and risk
- Design and build AI prototypes (chatbots, AI agents, RAG pipelines, etc.)
- Iterate on prototypes based on stakeholder feedback and validation results
- Define evaluation metrics and go/no-go criteria for production readiness, and report findings
What We're Looking For
Required:
- Experience building solutions with generative AI, LLMs, or AI agents
- Hands-on skills in prompt engineering, generative AI chatbots, RAG, AI agents, and/or MCP
- Experience owning the full cycle — direct stakeholder dialogue, problem discovery, solution proposal, and implementation
- Experience designing PoC evaluation frameworks (test data, pass/fail criteria, quantitative go/no-go decisions)
- Experience aligning security and governance requirements with relevant stakeholders
- Experience with a major cloud platform (AWS, GCP, or Azure)
Nice to Have:
- Experience using AI coding tools (e.g., Claude Code) for rapid development
- Data pipeline / data engineering experience
- API design and integration development experience
- Background in consulting or systems integration (business process improvement, system rollout projects), internal DX/new-business PoC development, or applied AI/ML (from problem definition through model selection and deployment)
Language Requirements
- Japanese: Business fluency required — you'll conduct workshops, discussions, and write proposals/requirements docs primarily in Japanese
- English: Not required at entry, but the engineering org is multinational, so an openness to learning English and working in a global environment is welcomed
Tech Stack
- AI/ML: Python, various LLM APIs
- Backend: Python
- Frontend: React, TypeScript
- Infrastructure: AWS, GCP, Azure
- Tools: GitHub, CircleCI/GitHub Actions, Docker, Terraform Enterprise, Datadog, Sentry, Slack, Jira, Asana
Why Join
- Direct, visible impact — your prototypes change how business units actually work
- Exposure to cutting-edge AI agent and generative AI projects
- Small, senior team with high autonomy and close access to business and leadership stakeholders
- Broad domain exposure (HR, legal, IP, compliance, and more) building both technical depth and business acumen
- Clear growth paths toward tech lead, product owner, or new-business leadership roles
Benefits
- Latest-spec company laptop (Mac or Windows)
- Equipment stipend (monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc.)
- Company library — free book lending, purchase requests covered
- Referral bonus program
- Conference attendance support (domestic and international)
- Full social insurance, housing/relocation allowances, health checkups, retirement plan (DC), employee stock ownership plan
Company identity withheld for confidential/anonymous posting.