JD_SMF-Accelerator

Job Background

We are pleased to announce the establishment of a new company in partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, aimed at setting up a new digital bank. This project is one of our most critical initiatives, embodying our corporate vision: "Money Forward. Life Forward."

Currently, as a preparatory company for the bank's establishment, we are simultaneously advancing a wide range of initiatives including service planning, system development, and customer acquisition strategies. To rapidly accelerate product construction and system development towards the official launch and release, we are looking for a Product Owner (PO) who will lead product realization as a member of our business team.

The PO is expected to team up with Japanese members who design the product's value proposition and commerciality to "co-define the 'How' for implementing business requirements in an optimal manner that engineers can fully align with." Rather than simply bridging specifications, we seek someone who deeply understands the essence of banking operations and product value, engages in peer-to-peer technical dialogues with engineers, and successfully delivers product creation.

To deliver next-generation financial services to society using cutting-edge technology, it is essential to not only build excellent products and systems but also to actively design and implement a framework from the business side that ensures safe and smooth banking operations. Furthermore, in this project, rather than being bound by traditional development flows, we aim to build an "AI-native development process" premised on AI and automation. In this once-in-a-lifetime challenge of building a bank from scratch, your mission will be to shape systems and products for new financial services without being bound by conventional wisdom.

Key Responsibilities

In the development of our new digital bank (BaaS platform), you will lead the advancement of Scrum development and the maximization of product value as the core of the product realization process, bridging the Japanese business team with global engineering teams, primarily in Vietnam and India.

• Elaboration and Realization of Product Requirements (PO Duties): Deeply understand the essential intent and business requirements of the Japanese business team and stakeholders, work closely with the engineering team to brainstorm "better implementation paths," and translate them into actionable, implementable system requirements.
• Technical Dialogue with Engineers and Building a Feedback System: Join Scrum teams for banking system development as a PO. Review developed programs and establish a smooth flow for feedback and verification back to the business side.
• Driving an AI-Native Development Process in Collaboration with Members: Actively utilize generative AI and other latest technologies in requirements definition and Scrum development in collaboration with other team members. Together with the team, explore and improve mechanisms aimed at reducing the burden of document creation (such as automatic generation of requirements definition documents) and improving overall team productivity.

Requirements (Must)

• Language Skills (Trilingual):
  • Japanese: Business level (equivalent to N1, capable of complex coordination and consensus-building with Japanese stakeholders)
  • English: Business level (capable of collaboration with Indian members and global documentation/communication)
  • Vietnamese: Native level
• Product / Requirements Definition Experience: Experience as a Bridge SE, Product Owner (PO), or Product Manager (PdM) (approx. 5+ years). Experience in translating complex business logic into system specifications, debating as peers with engineers, and successfully completing product delivery from the perspective of "elevating business requirements into system specifications."
• Technical Background: Practical experience as an engineer, or a deep understanding of system architecture and technology stack constraints, enabling technical dialogues with engineers.
• Agile Development Experience: Deep understanding of Scrum development methodologies and practical experience in Scrum teams.

Preferred Qualifications (Want)

• Knowledge of Financial/Banking Systems: Experience involved in projects such as banking systems, payments, or BaaS (Banking as a Service).
• Knowledge of AI / Automation: Utilizing generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude at a practical level in daily operations (document creation, auxiliary requirements definition, etc.), or having a strong interest in introducing them to the team.
• Deep Empathy for User Experience and Boundless Curiosity: Thinking about products starting from "value for the end user," with a strong desire to continuously learn unfamiliar domain knowledge and the latest technologies.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Ability to "Materialize" and Build Consensus, Integrating Business and Technology: Capable of freely translating between the language of business and technology, across multiple languages (Japanese, English, Vietnamese), and aligning key points by involving stakeholders from different cultural backgrounds.
• Passion for Systemization and Involving the Team: Not satisfied with the "status quo," but finding joy in dramatically improving operational efficiency by trying and testing AI and automation tools alongside other team members.
• Proactive Self-Starter: Able to enjoy highly uncertain and chaotic environments, such as startups or new launch phases, and take initiative without waiting for instructions.

Key Attractions of the Position

• Core Member in Building a Digital Bank "From Scratch"
  • You can participate from the very upstream of one of the market's rarest and most critical projects: launching a new digital bank (BaaS platform).
• Significant Autonomy as the "Hub" of a Global Development Organization Connecting Vietnam, India, and Japan
  • As a bridge between the Japanese business team and the engineering teams in Vietnam and India, you can exercise a strong presence as an essential core of the organization, leading the entire cycle from specification adjustment to program completion and feedback.
• A Modern Environment to Practice and Lead "AI-Native Development Processes" with the Team
  • Beyond just writing specification documents, you can experience a cutting-edge development style where you collaborate with other members to test, iterate, and integrate generative AI and other latest technologies into daily development, dramatically boosting team productivity.
• A Flexible, Diverse Team Where Multiple Languages and Cultures Intersect
  • You can grow in an exciting, fast-paced global environment where Japanese, English, and Vietnamese fly around, and members from diverse backgrounds in Vietnam and India work with mutual respect.
• An Environment to Absorb Deep Knowledge and Skills in Japanese Financial Business
  • Working as One Team with experts well-versed in the Japanese financial industry allows you to deeply learn complex business knowledge and specification-writing know-how unique to the financial domain through actual practice. Even if you don't have prior finance experience, you can increase your market value as a highly specialized financial product development specialist by repeating dialogue and implementation to "create better products" with team members.