About Recursive
As the world's population grows, we are facing a number of global challenges in the realms of environmental conservation, societal equity and ensuring that nobody is left behind in the transition to a digital economy. Artificial intelligence is a key technology to not only address some symptoms of these issues, but also helping create completely new innovative approaches that can create a more sustainable economy and lifestyle.
Recursive is an Applied AI consulting company based in Japan working on developing solutions to some of these challenging problems. We collaborate with large Japanese enterprises to create innovative solutions to sustainability challenges, merging in our expertise in AI research and our client's domain knowledge. Our development projects focus around the main themes of improving efficiency, accelerating innovation, risk mitigation and better work and education.
Recursive is founded by Tiago Ramalho and Katsutoshi Yamada in 2020. Tiago was a Senior Research Engineer at Google Deepmind and Lead Research scientist at Cogent labs and brings years of machine learning expertise to the company. Katsutoshi is a serial entrepreneur and AI expert with experience in developing and establishing innovative business models in Japan and abroad.
Building on its previous successes, Recursive is now looking to grow and expand its impact further. Visit our homepage to learn more about Recursive.
Recursive’s Mission
At Recursive, our mission is to attract individuals who share our passion for our core purpose: to create a fairer, more sustainable society through the power of Artificial Intelligence.
Our Mission:
・Why: To build a fairer, more sustainable society.
・How: By transforming our clients into AI-first businesses.
・What: Through AI technology development and consulting.
In pursuit of this mission, Recursive has distinguished itself in several key areas:
・Cutting-Edge AI Application: We excel in translating state-of-the-art AI research into practical applications. This is achieved through strong connections with academic machine learning research, a commitment to understanding client data and requirements, and seamless integration with client businesses.
・Generative AI Innovation: We launched a Generative AI solution to the market just as the field was gaining momentum, having initiated development in early 2022.
・Enterprise AI Solutions: We introduced FindFlow only six months after ChatGPT's release, enhancing the application of large language models for enterprise use and enabling access to private enterprise data with Generative AI.
・Pioneering Environmental AI: Recursive is the first Japanese company to employ Physics-Inspired Neural Networks for simulating environmental systems. We aim to use these methods to transform environmental management and promote renewable energy adoption. Learn more about this project by watching our presentation at the Google Cloud for Sustainability event.
Recursive’s Culture
Ultimately, the value of a company is the result of the collective actions of its passionate members. At Recursive we want to focus on creating an incredible working environment where talented individuals can come together to work hard on solving real-world problems.
When it comes to culture, we know that there is no way to suit everyone’s tastes. Almost everyone has a passion, but not all passions align. And the same is true for Recursive.
We aim to build a work environment that is ideal for a particular kind of person:
・Challenger Mentality: Those who like to solve hard problems and try to go beyond their current abilities
・Leadership: those who take the initiative and fix problems on their own
・Trust & Cooperation: those who seek to work with a team of talented individuals they can trust
・Impact: those who want to feel like their work is having impact on others/the world Recursive can only work when we take collaboration to be our top priority.
Our workplace has zero tolerance for harassment or toxic behavior, deliberate bad performance, as well as any behaviors that undermine the culture we wish to create. We will only be able to achieve the goals of closing more impactful projects, and achieving “kandou” for the ones we are executing, if all teams come together and collaborate.
We want to use our diversity of cultures and experiences as a strength instead of a weakness. Given that we are still a small company, everyone’s actions matter, and we place top priority in ensuring that our culture (i.e. the actions of our members) reflects our values.
That means that it is not enough to simply write down a document with what we believe our culture is, but in a nutshell, actively rewarding behaviors that are consistent with the culture and disincentivizing behaviors that go against the culture that we want to build.
Recursive’s Employment Framework
・Contract Structure: Recursive provides one year fixed term contracts for all new employees. The contracts are converted into permanent contracts upon new members meeting Recursive standards and contributing effectively to Recursive’s success.
・Flexible Work Hours: Recursive operates on a flex system with the core hours of 10:00 - 16:00. The flexible work hours fosters a supportive environment that accommodates diverse employee needs while ensuring effective team collaboration during core hours.
・Hybrid Work: Benefit from a hybrid work model that offers remote flexibility and up to four days working from our Shibuya office.
・Comprehensive Leave Policy: Enjoy public holidays, winter break, 20 days of paid annual leave, 5 days of sick leave along with special leave for bereavement and paid parental care.
・Enriching Welfare Programs: Take advantage of our diverse welfare programs such as health insurance, annual health checkups, employee’s welfare pension, accident and unemployment insurance, paid parental leave, caregiving leave, babysitter voucher program, team-building allowances, skill development and language learning support, relocation assistance, and visa application support.
・Supportive Benefits: Access a range of benefits including commuting allowance, referral bonus, employee invention profit share program, and stock option plan for eligible roles.
・Open to Side Projects: While side jobs are generally not allowed, we are open to discussions based on individual circumstances, fostering a supportive and flexible work culture. Some of our members teach at universities, contribute to non-profit organizations, or engage in pet projects that improve their knowledge and skillsets.
Responsibilities
Hiring Strategy
• Lead the design and execution of Recursive's hiring strategy in alignment with business growth objectives.
• Partner with the Director of Corporate Development and leadership team to forecast hiring needs and build a rolling resourcing plan.
• Define and continuously refine sourcing strategies, channel mix, and employer branding initiatives to attract high-calibre talent.
• Develop and maintain a talent pipeline for critical and recurring roles across technical, commercial, and corporate functions.
• Advise on market trends, compensation benchmarks, and competitive intelligence to keep Recursive's hiring approach sharp.
Hiring Coordination & Delivery
• Own the full recruitment lifecycle for all open roles — from job brief through to offer acceptance.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for hiring managers, ensuring a consistent, high-quality experience at every stage.
• Coordinate interview processes, scorecards, and feedback loops across all stakeholders with precision and speed.
• Manage relationships with external recruitment partners, agencies, and job platforms where applicable.
• Ensure all candidate communications, documentation, and processes are handled professionally and in a timely manner.
Resourcing & Workforce Planning
• Maintain an up-to-date view of headcount needs, open roles, and hiring progress across the organisation.
• Work with team leads and hiring managers to translate business plans into clearly defined role requirements and timelines.
• Identify resourcing risks early and propose solutions to keep hiring on track.
• Support visa and work permit processes for international hires in collaboration with relevant internal and external parties.
Process & Analytics
• Track, analyse, and report on key recruitment metrics including time-to-hire, pipeline health, source effectiveness, and offer acceptance rates.
• Continuously evaluate and adopt new tools, technologies, and approaches to improve the efficiency and quality of talent acquisition.
• Build and document scalable hiring processes that can grow with the company.
• Drive structured onboarding coordination to ensure new hires are set up for success from day one.
Stakeholder Management
• Build strong, trusted relationships with all hiring managers — acting as a strategic partner, not just a coordinator.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Corporate Development, Finance, and team leads on headcount planning and approval workflows.
• Represent Recursive's culture, values, and employer brand authentically throughout every candidate interaction.
Expectations
Strategic Thinking
• Brings a structured, data-informed approach to hiring — able to zoom out to strategy and zoom in to execution.
• Proactively identifies gaps and opportunities without waiting to be asked.
Communication
• Communicates with clarity and confidence across all levels of the organisation.
• Keeps hiring managers and candidates well-informed throughout the process — no black holes.
Ownership
• Takes full accountability for outcomes, not just activities.
• Operates with high autonomy and brings solutions rather than problems.
Organization
• Manages multiple simultaneous hiring processes without dropping the ball.
• Maintains meticulous records and keeps systems up to date.
Adaptability
• Thrives in a fast-moving, evolving environment where priorities shift.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and able to build structure where none exists.
Qualifications
• 5+ years of end-to-end talent acquisition experience, ideally in a high-growth technology or consulting environment.
• Demonstrated experience owning hiring strategy, not just executing processes.
• Strong track record of partnering with senior stakeholders and hiring managers across multiple functions.
• Experience managing diverse role types — from technical AI/engineering roles to commercial and corporate positions.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills; able to run multiple pipelines simultaneously.
• Business-level proficiency in both English and Japanese.
Nice-to-Have
• Experience hiring in Japan, including knowledge of work visa and permit processes for foreign nationals.
• Background in or strong interest in AI, tech, or consulting industries.
• Experience working in multinational or multicultural organisations.
• Familiarity with modern ATS platforms, sourcing tools, and recruitment analytics.
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