(Data Scientist)World's Largest Anime & Manga Fan Community / Hybrid / JLPT N2 level

To realize its vision of establishing a “Fan Nation,” the corporate group operates businesses that span three core areas: entertainment, technology, and finance. The group is dedicated to building a new social infrastructure by designing an organically interconnected ecosystem. Its operations include running one of the world’s largest anime and manga community websites (serving 20 million monthly users across 244 countries and regions), developing and providing platforms that support the creation of IP-inclusive fan communities, and managing Web3 financial services.

In its Pre-Series C funding round announced in May 2025, the group secured major investments from Sony Group and Bandai Namco Holdings. Furthermore, prominent publishing companies-including Kodansha, Shueisha, and Shogakukan-have joined as new shareholders, accelerating the group’s efforts to establish one of the largest ecosystems within the Japanese entertainment industry.

*About the Product & Business

The platform stands as one of the world’s largest anime and manga communities and databases, used by 20 million monthly users across 244 countries and regions. The corporate group is currently launching and scaling a new B2B SaaS product that combines this global entertainment fan data with AI technology, positioning it as a core pillar of its organizational strategy.

This product leverages data and AI to transform critical decision-making processes within the entertainment industry-such as hit prediction, prioritization of overseas expansion, and establishing quantitative grounds for licensing negotiations-which historically relied heavily on individual experience and intuition. The target clientele includes major players in the Japanese entertainment industry, such as publishers, television networks, anime production studios, and gaming companies. Beginning with the major entertainment enterprises among its shareholders, the group is also advancing customized rollouts tailored to the specific challenges of each client.

*About the Position

Serving as the core of the AI Data Business, this leadership role works alongside the Business Head to drive both business and product strategies using data science as a primary leverage.

What the company seeks in this position is not someone who simply focuses on “how to process existing data.” Rather, the role demands starting from the ground up by designing strategies for “how to acquire missing data,” envisioning what kind of business impact can be generated by applying specific data to specific problems, and executing that vision.

Furthermore, data science forms the very foundation of the product’s core logic. Instead of a traditional “analyze and hand off” approach, the successful candidate is expected to act as the architect and decision-maker for the product’s underlying logic, taking full accountability for both product and business outcomes.

Formulating high-quality business hypotheses directly correlates with a deep understanding of the anime and manga domain. Because a high-resolution understanding of titles, genres, production/publishing pipelines, markets, and fandoms directly dictates the quality of hypotheses-and consequently, the competitiveness of the business-extensive domain knowledge is a strict requirement for this role.

*Responsibilities

・Identification of business opportunities and design of analysis methodologies based on fandom data (including strategic planning for acquiring uncollected data).

・Design and decision-making for core data product logic (such as scoring, recommendation engines, and analytical models).

・Problem definition, analysis, extraction of insights, and strategic proposal formulation in collaboration with internal departments and partner companies.

・Proposal creation, reporting, and documentation (including narrative and story design) to translate analytical insights into actionable business decisions.

・Standardization (templating) of analytical frameworks, alongside automation and operational design leveraging AI agents.

・(Optional) Data modeling/datamart design, and API/backend implementation.

*Position Highlights

・Work at the core of the business with MAL fandom data, a virtually unparalleled asset covering 20 million monthly users across 244 countries and regions.

・Move beyond passive analysis to take direct responsibility for the product’s underlying logic and business expansion decisions.

・Exercise the authority to span data science, engineering, and business strategy-breaking down boundaries that are typically siloed in traditional data scientist roles.

・Deliver data-driven proposals directly to major entertainment decision-makers, backed by a shareholder base comprised of publishing, anime, and gaming giants.

・Join during the launch phase of an AI data business that has become the mainstream organizational strategy, allowing you to personally define analysis templates, evaluation standards, and operational frameworks.

*Technical Environment

・Languages: Python (Required), Go (Preferred), TypeScript (As needed)

・Cloud Platform (GCP): BigQuery, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Cloud Spanner, Cloud Composer

・Tools & Infrastructure: Terraform, dbt, Steep, Redash, Looker Studio, ・Rent subsidy (for those within 3 km of the office or within 3 stations from Sasazuka or Daitabashi station): 10,000 yen if rent and common expenses are less than 70,000 yen, 20,000 yen if rent and common expenses are 70,000 yen or more

・Full subsidy for the purchase of books (including manga)

・Subsidy for participation in outside study groups and events

・Up to 20,000 yen per month for laundry, housekeeping, gym fees, etc., selected by each employee from among items specified by the company.

・Subsidy for Ethereum purchase

*Required

Expertise and practical experience in data science

Experience in data analysis, model building, and implementation using Python

A fundamental understanding of the principles of statistics and machine learning, and the ability to select the most appropriate methods for specific challenges

Ability to solve business problems and propose strategies

Experience independently gathering and organizing information on business and client challenges, and taking the lead from analysis and design through to deriving insights and making proposals

Ability to envision what business impact can be generated by analyzing specific data

Data design skills

Ability to go beyond simply analyzing existing data and think through the process from defining “data to be collected” to designing its acquisition

Passion for and domain knowledge of the anime and manga industries (required)

Ability to formulate hypotheses based on an understanding of works, genres, production/publishing, markets, and fandoms

*Preferred

Experience in designing and developing the logic for data products and machine learning systems

Experience in data-driven planning, proposal development, and client negotiations, either at a consulting firm or a corporate client

LLM/agent design (prompt design, tool design, evaluation, and improvement)

Experience in backend development (e.g., using Go) and API implementation

Practical experience in data modeling and data mart design

Practical experience in A/B testing, causal inference, and marketing analysis

Experience leading teams and projects

*Ideal Applicants

Empathy with the group’s Mission and Values.

A deep sense of fulfillment in leveraging data to actively drive and impact business growth.

Ability to formulate highly accurate hypotheses and insights grounded in the nuances and context of anime and manga.

Capability to take full ownership of both product development and business outcomes.

A positive, thrives-in-ambiguity mindset that enjoys navigating the “undefined” aspects of a startup phase to build new operational frameworks.

The company is a Web3 startup that aims to create a fan economy with the mission of “advancing the times together with fans”.

The company develops and provides a fan platform for the Web3 era that maximizes fan enthusiasm for major entertainment companies such as publishers, music labels, and game companies. They have raised 3.4 billion yen in Series B funding in 2022 and are actively recruiting.

The company uses the concept of a “Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)” as a guideline for organizational management.

Regardless of age, role, or position, members proactively make proposals and decisions.

The company aims to realize new entertainment experiences at the production level by utilizing generative AI technologies, such as Generative Agents and Entertainment IP’s unique image generation.

Agile: To respond flexibly to areas of high uncertainty, we use Kanban to manage development autonomously by teams of engineers.