VP of Engineering, AI | Native Japanese Required | ¥20M-30M

Our client is a rapidly growing Japanese AI SaaS company developing next-generation AI solutions for enterprise customers.

The company operates at the forefront of applied AI innovation and is investing heavily in Generative AI, AI Agents, and advanced machine learning technologies to transform complex business workflows. As the organization continues to scale, significant investments are being made in engineering leadership, AI talent development, and organizational excellence.

This is an opportunity to join a well-funded and expanding technology company where AI plays a central role in product strategy, business growth, and long-term company vision.

VP of Engineering, AI
Tokyo | Hybrid | JPY 20M-30M

A rapidly growing AI SaaS company is seeking an experienced engineering executive to strengthen and scale its AI engineering organization across multiple business units.

This leadership position will focus on AI talent strategy, organizational development, engineering leadership, and the establishment of scalable management frameworks that enable long-term business growth.

Key Responsibilities

・ Build and scale AI engineering capabilities across multiple business units
・ Lead recruitment initiatives for AI Engineers, Applied AI Engineers, and Machine Learning Engineers
・ Design and improve hiring standards, interview processes, competency frameworks, performance evaluations, and career development programs
・ Partner with senior business leaders, product leaders, engineering leaders, and HR stakeholders
・ Support organization design, team structure planning, reporting models, and workforce strategy
・ Coach and develop engineering leaders and senior AI professionals
・ Establish best practices for onboarding, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and people management
・ Drive organizational effectiveness and continuous improvement initiatives
・ Contribute to AI strategy and technical direction where appropriate

Requirements

・ Recent hands-on experience developing and operating commercial software products
・ Experience deploying and scaling LLM, Generative AI, or AI Agent solutions in production environments
・ Track record of building AI hiring frameworks and improving recruitment quality
・ 3+ years of people management or organizational leadership experience
・ Strong stakeholder management and cross-functional leadership skills
・ Native-level or near-native Japanese communication skills (mandatory)
・ Business-level English reading and writing skills

Preferred Qualifications

・ Experience with LLM architecture, RAG, AI evaluation systems, observability, governance and AI operations
・ Experience managing managers and scaling large engineering organizations
・ Experience leading organizational transformation initiatives
・ Experience working within matrix organizations and business-unit structures
・ Experience collaborating with international stakeholders

Compensation

JPY 20,000,000 - 30,000,000 per year

Location

Tokyo (Hybrid Work Arrangement)

Important Note

Native-level Japanese communication skills are required due to extensive collaboration with Japanese executives, business leaders, engineers, and hiring stakeholders.