Joining Sakana AI.
Last update: November 2024. Business Analyst and Information Technology Manager updated.
Interested in joining us? We’re hiring! Although we are a small lab, we are always looking to bring on exceptional talent to join our team. If you are interested in applying for one of the positions in this post, please follow the below two steps:
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Complete this Google Form.
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Email careers@sakana.ai with a description about yourself. Indicate that you have completed the form.
Please read and follow the instructions in the Google Form very carefully.
Member of Technical Staff
We are hiring researchers and engineers who are passionate about novel approaches to develop the next generation of nature-inspired foundation AI models together with us! We are looking for candidates who we believe have the potential to build great things — people who have passions in pushing the boundaries of areas such as evolutionary computation, generative AI, open-endedness, collective intelligence, artificial life and autonomous agents.
Ideal candidates can demonstrate this by highlighting previous projects or publications related to AI that they are proud of showcasing. For candidates with academic backgrounds, we will be interested in your publications in venues such as NeurIPS, ICLR, GECCO, ALIFE, MLSys, JMLR, ICML, IROS, or other peer-reviewed journals or conferences. The ability to write high quality code and having experience contributing to popular open-source software projects will be a strong asset.
Candidates will be expected to be physically based in Tokyo, but we will provide assistance with the Visa application process if needed. We will be offering positions from 4 month internships, part-time student researcher (for graduate students in Japan), 1-year visiting researcher, to full time roles.
For candidates interested in applied research and engineering roles, having some level of Japanese language fluency, and experience working with Japanese institutions will be beneficial.
We are looking for an Information Technology professional to help manage our growing IT systems and infrastructure as we grow. The candidate is expected to also be proficient at general IT matters, handle IT administration work, and implement cybersecurity best practices. The Information Technology manager is expected to be the Swiss Army Knife of IT for the company. This is a full-time role, and it is required that the candidate is based in Japan and is fluent in Japanese.
The candidate for this role will be evaluated for the following criteria:
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The candidate will be responsible for general system administration (GCP), and will be performing duties such as account administration, managing and issuing & kitting corporate devices (laptops, smartphones etc), controlling information access on the company’s cloud storage.
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An important role for this candidate is to understand and manage cybersecurity risks for the company (such as devising best practice policies, 2FA, understanding and implementing security keys across corporate devices, etc). This includes identifying and resolving security threats to the company’s various servers and systems, and building company-wide Information Security Management Systems, with the potential of obtaining ISO certifications.
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The candidate will also support our Corporate Operations Manager (COO-line) in defining IT policies and creating IT processes and reports, which is required for regular IT audits and compliance (and perhaps in the future, for things like IPO preparation and IT due diligence). Tasks may include incorporating vendor-specific cloud software, such as approval software, for record keeping, auditing, and accountability purposes.
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We welcome the candidate who has experience in (i) building IT infrastructure for other corporate functions such as accounting, HR etc., and (ii) creating a process and platform for employees to effectively and efficiently collaborate on various projects from scratch.
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Native Level Japanese, basic communication skills in English (good enough to work with an international team at the company on IT management).
Business Analyst
We believe that AI is the most important technological development in this century. R&D in AI will lead to continued transformation of our entire civilization. How people, and by extension, businesses and governments, use technology is entering a phase of rapid transformation — one that is effectively accelerated by AI. As a business analyst, you will help Sakana AI prepare for opportunities to impact the broader ecosystem of business and government organizations in Japan and globally. For the role of Business Analyst, we are looking for candidates who are passionate about long term R&D in AI, and can work on long term, sustainable opportunities as we advance.
This is a full-time role, and regardless of the candidate’s background, it is required that the candidate is based in Japan and is bi-lingual in English and Japanese with business-level proficiency.
The ideal candidate will have worked at (a) a global investment bank , (b) a top global management consulting firm, (c) a business development department of global tech companies, or (d) a digital transformation department of financial institutions, with experience working with Japanese organizations. The candidate is expected to be proficient in both business-level English and Japanese. Having a strong passion in using Generative AI models, such as large language models or image generation models will be an asset.
Note that at this point, we will not be considering candidates who do not have experience working in Japan, with Japanese institutions.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Establish and maintain strong relationships with strategic business partners and develop new business opportunities
Qualifications and Skills
- Proven experience (i) at a global investment bank in Tokyo, as an analyst or associate in the investment banking division (IBD) or equity capital markets (ECM) areas, working with Japanese organizations, working on fundraising, M&A, and IPOs, (ii) at a top global management consulting firms working for Japanese large corporations, (iii) at a business development department of global tech companies in Japan, or (iv) at a digital transformation department of financial institutions.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Law, or a related field. Degrees in Computer Science, Machine Learning will be a big plus.
- Proficient in both business-level English and Japanese.
- A passion for using Generative AI models such as LLMs and/or AI agents will be an asset.
- An English CV and cover letter preferred.
ビジネスアナリスト
私たちはAIが今世紀におけるもっとも重要な技術開発だと考えています。AIの研究開発は、私たちの文明を継続して変革させていくでしょう。人々、ひいては企業や政府がどのようにテクノロジーを利用するかは、AIによって効果的に加速された急速な変革の段階に入りつつあります。あなたには、ビジネスアナリストとして、Sakana AIが日本や世界の企業や政府機関の幅広いエコシステムに影響を与える機会を準備するお手伝いをしていただきます。ビジネスアナリストの役割には、AIの長期的な研究開発に情熱を持ち、私たちが前進する中で長期的かつ持続可能な機会に取り組むことができる候補者を求めています。
この職務は、フルタイムで、候補者の経歴にかかわらず、日本を拠点とし、ビジネスレベルの英語と日本語の能力があることが求められます。
(a)グローバルな投資銀行、(b)グローバルなトップ経営コンサルティングファーム、(c)グローバルなテック企業の事業開発部門、(d)金融機関のデジタルトランスフォーメーション部門、での勤務経験があり、日本の組織での勤務経験がある方が理想的です。ビジネスレベルの英語力と日本語力の両方が求められます。大規模言語モデルや画像生成モデルなど、生成AIモデルの活用に強い情熱をお持ちの方は優遇します。
なお、現時点では、日本での勤務経験や日本の機関での勤務経験がない候補者は考慮しません。
役割と責任
- 戦略的ビジネスパートナーとの強固な関係を構築・維持し、新たなビジネスチャンスを開拓する。
応募資格およびスキル
- (i)グローバル投資銀行において、投資銀行部門（IBD）または株式資本市場（ECM）領域のアナリストまたはアソシエイトとして、日本の組織を担当し、資金調達、M&A、IPOに携わった経験、(ii)グローバルトップ経営コンサルティングファームにおいて、日本の大企業を担当した経験、(iii)グローバルテック企業の日本における事業開発部門、または(iv)金融機関のデジタルトランスフォーメーション部門における経験。
- ファイナンス、経営学、経済学、法学、または関連分野の学士号または修士号。コンピューターサイエンス、機械学習の学位をお持ちであれば尚可。
- ビジネスレベルの英語と日本語に堪能であること。
- LLMやAIエージェントのような生成AIモデルの使用に対する情熱があれば尚可。
- 英文のCVとカバーレターを推奨。