Utagoe Inc.

The Company

Utagoe is building an MLOps (machine learning operations) platform for software developers to tackle the challenge of creating an advanced AI world that will enable a more environmentally friendly society.

The role

The role focuses on creating and evolving our both frontend user interface and backend infrastructure, including high-availability APIs, compute and storage, and an all-automation mindset. This backend serves both our customer data and MLOps features.

The services hosted on the backend share in common the need for flexible compute and storage. MLOps services also require care for scalable workloads both on frontend APIs and internal backend jobs, as well as advanced monitoring and distributed logging. Interest in these issues should make this role attractive, as we are working at creating a great work environment to tackle them.

The role has a lot of freedom in technology choices, which we expect to decide as a team. The needs for flexibility and scale lead us to consider, for now:

• Infrastructure on cloud (APIs, compute, storage).
• Containers everywhere, with Docker and Kubernetes.
• Infrastructure automation, e.g. with Terraform.

The role is also about joining a team dedicated to the future of AI, to work with research scientists, AI/ML engineers and designers. The frontend and backend supports all these activities on a daily basis, and benefits from our work on advanced automation. This complementarity is at the core of the team and the company business model, to allow us progress toward an advanced AI world and provide the best AI tools on the market.

If you are interested in the role

Please consider contacting us to apply! We expect a few things from you:

• Enthusiasm and interest toward frontend and backend development.
  -You will have room for growth, and many challenges.
  -We are enthusiastic and interested in our own specialities!
  
• Ready to join a startup.
  -It can be messy, and requires personal commitment.
  -We expect you to work with us, not for us.
• Publicly visible work.
  -A StackOverflow account?
  -A GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket account?
  -A personal blog or Medium contributions?
  -Presentations at meetups?
  -Work of pride?
  -We would like to see what you have done already.

In terms of technologies and skills, we are interested in experience with:

• MLOps tools or frameworks.
• Mobile App development, e.g. swift, kotlin, flutter.
• Container technology, e.g. Docker.
• Workload orchestration, e.g. Kubernetes.
• Advanced monitoring, e.g. Prometheus, Graphite.
• API development, e.g. RESTful and protobuf.
• Compute layers, e.g. Celery, Spark, Sidekiq.
• Data streaming and analysis technologies.
• S3-like storage.
• Distributed and/or time-series databases.
• Data query languages, e.g. SQL, GraphQL.
• A programming language, e.g. Python, Rust, Go, C.
• Distributed version control, basically Git.

We have no experience level requirement, as we wish to grow together with you and, well, there is no need for everything right away. So please consider applying even if you only see partial coverage of the above!

The ideal candidate

If you score yourself high on all the items, we definitely hope for a chance to talk with you. We will consider some extras:

• Experience with “real world” data and concrete ML solutions.
• Multidisciplinary background or interests, notably related to Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, and Physics.
• A real passion for AI, beyond ML.
• Graduate degree in related disciplines.
  -Degree is not necessary to apply, but...
  -Degree is sometimes necessary to apply for visas.
  -The role would benefit from advanced analytical skills.

Application stages: Getting to know each other

We hope applying to work with us is a great experience. We value your time and your interest! We think the best way to decide working together is first to know more of each other, starting with us sharing our online profiles.

We propose meeting a number of times, primarily online, and freely talk about you, about us, and about what we could achieve together.
As much as we would like to meet every applicant, we expect first reading about your motivation for applying, and seeing your past achievements. This should give us a chance to reply early whether we should meet for the occasion. We promise to reply to each serious application.

In short, here is a typical application flow:

• You apply, sending us a resume and a cover letter. Again, we value very much seeing your public contributions.
• We invite you for a first online meeting, or explain why we may not meet this time.
• We may organize other meetings, for you and us to know better, sometimes on site.
• We expect to make decisions relatively rapidly.
• We may ask for references.

Partner Conditions

How we work together is in flux, as the team and company grow. We aim at adapting working conditions as we all see fit. Currently:

• We encourage "truth seeking".
• Personal growth-oriented environment.
• Honest salaries.
• Hideaway office within 1 min walking distance from Takadanobaba station.
• Some prefer remote work, some office work, some change every day.
• We gather at the office when needed.
• We breathe open source, when it makes sense.
• Inclusive.
• Medical checkup support in Tokyo.
• We love challenges and opportunities that make us evolve.

We hope these items paint a constructive image of our work style. All these items depend on the team, and your presence will influence them, as a partner.

Contact: recruit@utagoe.com