Generative AI × Manufacturing! AI Engineer at a Fast-Growing Startup Born at the University of Tokyo
What We Do
As an AI startup born at the University of Tokyo, we develop products primarily for clients in the manufacturing industry.
We have grown rapidly through collaborations with major manufacturers such as Toyota Motor Corporation and Tokyo Gas, and we are also developing our own LLM specialized for manufacturing.
Going forward, we plan to strengthen these partnerships with major players even further and accelerate our development.
In manufacturing, there is typically a value chain of "planning → design → procurement → production → sales," which generates a wide variety of information: planning documents, requirement specifications, 3D models, paper drawings, bills of materials, process design documents, trouble records, sales records, and more.
This data should be linked and managed on a per-product basis, yet in Japan today it remains insufficiently connected and underutilized.
Airion is working to put this "dormant manufacturing data" to use with AI technology. While maintaining strengths in established AI themes such as visual inspection, predictive maintenance, and demand forecasting, we take a whole-system optimization perspective, applying advanced technologies such as LLMs and knowledge graphs to explore how data across the entire manufacturing industry should be integrated, managed, and utilized.
Why We Do It
Our mission is "Creating the New Standard for Industry."
"Creating the New Standard for Industry" is our message to the industrial world we serve.
Industrial progress has always been driven by technological innovation—the steam engine, electricity, the internet. Today, cutting-edge technologies led by AI are spreading across society as a new wave of transformation.
But excellent technology alone does not change industry. Shop floors hold decades of accumulated expertise and established work processes, and there is considerable friction between them and new technology. Our role is to understand that friction, implement technology smoothly on the ground, and turn it into the strength of industry itself.
We want to elevate cutting-edge technology from something reserved for a handful of specialists into social infrastructure that is used as naturally as electricity or running water.
"I can't imagine a time without this"—our challenge is to create the industrial software standard for the next 100 years, one that people will describe in exactly those words.
The ability to understand cutting-edge technology, and the ability to understand the gritty reality of the shop floor—possessing both is no easy feat. But we believe it is precisely the people who can bridge these two extremes and create new value who will open up the era ahead.
When we look back from the future,
"I'm glad I was part of this era, this challenge"—
that is the kind of work we want to create together at Airion.
How We Do It
At Airion, we value five guiding principles in fulfilling our mission.
◉Humble and Good-Natured◉
Let go of misplaced pride and ego. Honestly acknowledge your own strengths and weaknesses, and absorb unfamiliar technologies and teammates' opinions like a sponge. Be the "good-natured" colleague who brightens the team's atmosphere with a positive attitude and grows together with others while enjoying change.
◉Do It Now, Move First◉
No armchair theories. Rather than polishing a perfect plan, value the speed of getting your hands moving and testing things in the field. Get started quickly before overthinking, take the first step faster than anyone, keep absorbing new information, and close in on the right answer.
◉Think Relentlessly About the User◉
Never push self-satisfied technology onto anyone. What do the customers in front of us, and the end users working with our products on the ground, really need? Always stand in their shoes, think doggedly and thoroughly about what will delight them most, and let that drive our development and proposals.
◉A Pro You Can Count On◉
"Build it and forget it" and "I only did what I was told" are not professional work. Carry the last-man spirit of being the final line of defense, and see things through responsibly until results are delivered. Be the kind of professional teammates can trust completely—"if it's in their hands, there's nothing to worry about."
◉Pick Up the Ball First◉
Throw away the boundary of "that's not my job." When you spot a seed that could help someone, or an issue no one else has noticed, be the first to pick it up. With a forward-leaning attitude of "I'll do anything!" and "I'll take it on!", step beyond your role, never blame others, and be an owner who makes the organization better through your own actions.
What You Will Do
Airion is a University of Tokyo startup selected for "GENIAC," a national project run by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and NEDO. Rather than letting research end with papers, we take consistent ownership of "social implementation"—deploying results on real manufacturing floors. You will be involved broadly, from requirements definition to system design and infrastructure, iterating rapidly on hypotheses based on feedback from the field. We are looking for people who want to take on this kind of hands-on AI development.
[Open Position]
In this position, you will work on advanced themes such as generative AI, LLMs, image recognition, and mathematical optimization, taking ownership end to end from research to real-world deployment.
[Main Responsibilities]
- R&D on LLM development, RAG construction, image recognition, mathematical optimization, and 3D models × AI
- Surveying the latest research papers and applying findings to implementation
- Participating in requirements definition and specification development
- Data collection and preprocessing; model training, evaluation, and improvement
- System implementation, including server setup and building MLOps infrastructure
- Creating technical documents and presentation materials
[Highlights]
- Experience full-scale, real-world AI deployment on a nationally selected project
- Be involved in every phase, from requirements definition to infrastructure
- Iterate rapidly on hypotheses based on feedback from the field
- Take on a broad range of advanced fields, including LLMs, image recognition, and optimization
- Depending on your results, you may be entrusted with a PM role and gain experience leading a team
[The Mindset Airion Values]
- A hunger to absorb new technologies
- A commitment to managing your work with speed as the top priority
- A drive to deliver output that exceeds the expectations of stakeholders inside and outside the company
- Last-man spirit: owning the projects you are responsible for through to the end
- Boosting productivity through frequent reporting, updates, and consultation, and close communication
[Requirements]
- Hands-on experience implementing machine learning with Python
- Experience with more than half of the key skills listed below, and a willingness to tackle the remaining areas proactively with support from the team
- The ability to stay continuously attuned to the latest developments in AI
- Interest in the challenges facing manufacturing and a drive to solve them
[Preferred Qualifications]
- Deep expertise in any of the key skills above, with the ability to lead development
- A track record of research and published papers in the AI field
- Knowledge or experience in engineering areas beyond AI, such as backend, frontend, or infrastructure
Airion has a bold, ambitious culture unbound by the conventions of traditional Japanese companies. Under our guiding belief of "creating a present we can be proud of in the future," if you want to grow personally while advancing Japan's manufacturing industry, come walk this path with us.
Working Conditions
| Location | ・Tokyo: Kashiwaya Bldg. 2 3F, 3-28-10 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo About 3 min walk from Hongo-sanchome Station (Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line) About 5 min walk from Hongo-sanchome Station (Toei Oedo Line) ・Nagoya: inside STATION Ai, 1-2-32 Tsurumai, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi About 6 min walk from Tsurumai Station (JR Chuo Line) |
|---|---|
| Salary | Monthly salary ¥500,000–¥833,000; annual salary ¥6,000,000–¥10,000,000 |
| Salary notes | ・Working conditions during the probation period: unchanged ・Fixed overtime pay included: The monthly salary of ¥500,000–¥833,000 includes fixed overtime pay of ¥131,000–¥217,000 per month (equivalent to 45 hours). Overtime exceeding 45 hours is paid additionally. |
| Working hours | 9:00–18:00 (1-hour break) |
| Overtime | Yes |
| Probation period | Yes: 3 months |
| Days off | Two days off every week (Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays) |
| Leave | Paid leave / Year-end and New Year holidays / Congratulatory and condolence leave / Maternity leave / Childcare leave / Child nursing care leave / Family care leave |
| Allowances | Commuting allowance: up to ¥25,000 per month |
| Benefits | Health insurance (Kyokai Kenpo) / Employees' pension insurance / Employment insurance / Workers' compensation insurance / Health checkups / Commuting allowance / Subsidies for work-related books, articles, etc. |
| Insurance | Full social insurance coverage |
| Smoking policy | No smoking anywhere on the premises |
| Other | No relocation |
If you would like to proceed to the selection process, please fill in the required information using the form below.
https://forms.gle/vwF88ikEGyXTzTSKA
If you have any questions about recruiting, please feel free to contact us.
- Phone: 03-6683-2692
- Email: recruit@airion.co.jp