Product Manager, Advertisement Optimization Group - Merchandising and Advertisement Department (MAD)

Job Description:

Business Overview

Rakuten is a leading Japanese e-commerce and internet services company that offers a wide range of products and services to customers worldwide. With a strong focus on innovation, Rakuten aims to empower individuals, businesses, and society as a whole through its unique ecosystem of e-commerce, fintech, digital content, and communications services.

• Department Overview
• The Merchandising and Advertisement Department leverages AI-driven advertisement optimization, and pricing and inventory optimization systems based on demand forecasting. By closely integrating the information obtained from merchandising into our advertisement strategies, we maximize the synergy between both functions. This enables us to efficiently deliver optimal offers and information to our customers, thereby contributing to increased sales and enhanced customer satisfaction.

The Advertisement Optimization Group is a team of specialists in ad optimization, with AI at its core. We are responsible for the development and operation of highly effective ad optimization logic and platforms.

Our mission is to maximize publishers' ad revenue while maintaining and improving advertisers' ROAS (Return On Ad Spend). Specifically, we continuously improve ad delivery optimization, bidding/budget allocation, personalization, and performance measurement, contributing to the realization of a world that enhances both advertisers' ROI (Return On Investment) and user experience.

Position:

Position Details

As a Product Manager for the Rakuten Advertisement Optimization Group, you will be responsible for managing Rakuten's advertising products and driving the optimization of their logic using AI to ensure their continued success and growth. You will work closely with diverse teams including Data Scientists, Project Management, Engineering, Sales, and Operations to deliver high-quality products that meet customer needs and contribute to advertising revenue growth.

Responsibilities

- Define, drive, and lead cross-functional teams to successfully execute on the product roadmap for Rakuten's advertising products, ensuring alignment with business goals and objectives

- Define product requirements and scope, and formulate and drive project plans to ensure the successful, timely, and on-budget delivery of products

- Lead swift and appropriate internal and external communication during system incidents to minimize impact

- Collaborate closely with data science team and engineering teams to assess technical feasibility and optimize development processes, ensuring the timely and high-quality delivery of products

- Drive user research and market analysis based on a data-driven approach to deeply understand customer needs, market trends, and competitive landscapes, thereby guiding product strategy and development decisions

- Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, sales teams, and other key stakeholders to foster shared understanding and empathy regarding product strategy and roadmap, maximizing product-market fit

- Proactively identify and assess potential risks and issues in product development, and formulate and execute effective mitigation plans as needed to ensure product success

- Clearly and concisely communicate product progress, key achievements, challenges, and decision points to stakeholders at all levels, including senior leadership, ensuring transparency

- Continuously improve product development processes and team productivity by implementing and refining Agile development practices and product management best practices

- Continuously identify product growth opportunities and optimization points based on market trends, customer feedback, and internal data analysis, and formulate concrete improvement proposals and execution plans

Mandatory Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

- 5+ years of product management experience, with a focus on software development or technology-related projects

- Proven track record of successfully leading complex, cross-functional projects

- Excellent leadership, communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to smoothly collaborate and exert influence with stakeholders at all levels and diverse teams

- Practical experience with Agile development methodologies, tools, and processes

- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities and stakeholders

• - Proficiency in project management tools such as JIRA, Confluence, and Microsoft PowerPoint
• - Business level proficiency in English & Japanese (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing)

Desired Qualifications:

- Experience in the online advertising industry, AdTech, or digital advertising related fields

- Experience in developing or managing products leveraging AI/Machine Learning

- Experience working with large-scale datasets and data analytics platforms

- Experience in the online retail or e-commerce sector

- Practical knowledge of data query/analysis tools such as SQL, Python, and R

- Advanced degree (Master's or higher) in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

- PMP (Project Management Professional) or other project management certifications

#engineer #productmanager #AI #aianddatadiv

Languages:

English (Overall - 3 - Advanced), Japanese (Overall - 3 - Advanced)