About this role

This is the role we need most right now. It is full-time, and you would take charge of everything technical.

We are two directors building buddy, a product that automates content operations, together with the information-design research it rests on. The product is being validated with early adopter companies. How we choose technology and how we build are both still open, and we are looking for the person who will decide them.

The engineering organisation is still small, which means there is time both to write code and to set direction. This suits someone who wants to shape, with their own hands, what building software looks like when generative AI is assumed from the start.

What you will do

Decide technical strategy and architecture
Lead the design and development of the product (buddy)
Deliver features that build on generative AI
Hire and grow the engineering team, and set how it works
Handle technical discussions with outside development partners

Requirements

Experience leading product development on the technical side
Experience designing and building web, cloud, or data platforms
A track record of owning the technical decisions for a team
Willingness to keep writing code yourself

Nice to have

Experience building with generative AI and large language models
Zero-to-one experience at a startup
Knowledge of TypeScript and Next.js
Experience with hiring, evaluation, and building an engineering culture

How we work

Full-time. We expect this to come with a seat on the board; terms are discussed at interview. Our base is Toranomon Hills Business Tower 16F, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo (inside CIC Tokyo), and you can work fully remotely. Working hours are flexible. Negotiable based on experience. We expect to discuss equity (stock options) as part of the package.

What to send

Please send a resume and a work history. Japanese or English is fine. If you have published work, talk slides, or a GitHub account, we would like to see those as well.

Selection process

01 Apply — Email [email protected] with the role you are interested in in the subject line. The button on each role page works too.
02 Document review — We read your resume and work history (Japanese or English). Do tell us about published work or a GitHub account.
03 Casual chat — A first conversation to get to know each other. Online is fine.
04 Exercise — You work on the short exercise described on the role page. It takes about two to four hours. We look at how you think and decide, not at polish.
05 Interview — An interview with the founding members, based on what you submitted. Online is fine.
06 Offer — We align on terms and discuss when you would start.

Selection exercise (example)

Propose an architecture

In one or two pages, propose a technical setup (language, platform, data design) for an automation pipeline that analyses, generates and verifies content, on the assumption that it starts small and grows in stages. State your reasoning and the trade-offs you accepted.

It should take about two to three hours. We look at how you decide between options, and at the design thinking behind growing the system later.

We adjust the actual exercise to where we are in the process. Published work or a GitHub repository can stand in for it.

Beware of recruitment scams

We only contact candidates from addresses ending in @hyphen-tech.co.jp. If someone claiming to be us writes from a free email service, please do not respond and let us know at [email protected]. We never ask candidates to pay anything.

Apply for this role

We can start with a casual chat. Put “Director & CTO” in the subject line and use the button below.