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.

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.

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.

Role Overview

The People Operations Associate is a cross-functional role within the Corporate team at Recursive AI. You will manage the full employee lifecycle, support internal process improvements, and help ensure smooth day-to-day corporate operations. Reporting to the Director of Corporate, you will be the operational backbone of the team; handling people operations, office management, and administrative workflows with increasing autonomy as you grow into the role.

This is an ideal role for someone early in their career who is eager to develop a broad skill set across HR, corporate operations, and office management in an AI startup.
We value initiative and a learning mindset over years of experience.

Your Team

You will be joining a Corporate team of six people. Our team covers the full range of corporate functions; legal, governance, HR, finance, and operations. Responsibilities are divided based on each member’s expertise, strengths, and interests. No one works in isolation, and no one is expected to know everything from day one.

As a new member, you will have strong organizational support and direct access to more experienced colleagues who can mentor you across every area of the role. We believe the best way to learn is by doing; and you will have the backing of a team that wants to see you succeed.

Responsibilities

Employee Lifecycle Management

Administer governmental and internal paperwork; social security, pension, salary notices, employment contracts. Cover the full cycle from onboarding through offboarding. Ensure payroll updates and employee records remain accurate and current at every stage.

Performance Review & Policy Review

Support the employee performance review cycle, help implement satisfaction surveys and policy review processes to proactively surface concerns, analyze trends, and propose remedies before issues escalate.

Employee Inquiries & Support

Serve as the primary point of contact for general employee questions, requests, and day-to-day HR inquiries. Provide a positive, responsive experience for all team members.

File Management & Document Retention

Organize and maintain digital and physical corporate documents and records in compliance with internal policies and statutory retention requirements.

Company Events & Office Support

Plan and execute company events that foster team cohesion and social connection, from team-building activities to seasonal gatherings. Manage day-to-day office operations and internal communications related to the physical workspace.

Process Improvement

We are always looking for better ways to do things. You are encouraged to question existing workflows, flag inefficiencies, and suggest improvements; even small ones. You do not need to be a process expert; what matters is a willingness to ask “why do we do it this way?” and help the team build something better.

Expectations

Manage multiple operational tasks simultaneously with accuracy and attention to detail.
Communicate proactively with internal team members, external vendors, and office support partners.
Handle confidential employee and corporate information with professionalism and discretion.
Show initiative; identify what needs doing and act on it without waiting to be asked.
Propose improvements to administrative workflows and follow through on implementation.
Be curious and eager to learn; this role grows with you, and we invest in your development.

Qualifications

Required

Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritize across competing demands.
Fundamental IT literacy (Google Workspace; comfort with learning new tools quickly).
Business-level English (TOEIC 730+ / TOEFL iBT 80+); able to participate in team meetings and understand company guidelines in English.
Professional-level Japanese (JLPT N2 or above); strong reading ability for official administrative and social insurance documents.
High attention to detail and accuracy when handling documents, records, and filings.

Nice to Have

1+ years of experience in Human Resources, labor administration, office management, or a related corporate operations function.
Experience with payroll processing or social insurance administration in Japan.
Familiarity with Japanese labor law fundamentals (Labor Standards Act, employment rules).
Experience planning and executing corporate events.
Interest in or experience with process automation and workflow tools.