At Couger, there are not only engineers, but also project managers, marketing people, and many other types of people working in various fields. For those of you who are thinking about working at Couger in the future, we have interviewed some of the people who are currently working at Couger. The first interview is with Keita Shimizu, who works as a Lead Project Manager at Couger.
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Despite his impression that he always does his job well, Mr. Shimizu says he loves to drink and drinking parties. He likes fruity sake such as Hououbiden and Hiroki, which can be enjoyed on their own, and crisp wines from emerging countries such as Chile and Argentina. We asked Mr. Shimizu about how he came to work at Couger and what his job is like.
As for products, I am involved in LUDENS, a virtual human agent, image recognition systems, and blockchain. In addition, I am also involved in a wide range of PR and sales activities. My main role is project management of AI system development. I have also experienced work unique to the AI field, which I have not experienced in the past.
In meetings with clients to define requirements, there are discussions ranging from "What is AI?" to specialized discussions "What measures are unique to AI?” In internal development meetings, there are also discussions on AI learning and recognition accuracy, and we are constantly improving our skills. Quality control is also important when introducing a system, so we visit the client's site to test the system in a real environment and collect data for additional learning. Analysis of user usage and consideration of additional measures after implementation are also indispensable.
The engineers at Couger are of a very high level, so I play a role in setting up the entire project so that the client can feel the technical capabilities of our engineers without any loss.
I think it is a peaceful workplace with many easy-going people.
As we are dealing with cutting-edge IT topics, there are busy times when clients are defining their implementation requirements (concepts) and prior to system releases, but the atmosphere is never rough. IT venture companies may have an image of being gruff and hot-blooded, but it’s more of working coolly and quickly while maintaining enthusiasm. In addition, because of the current Covid-19 pandemic, most of the engineers are working remotely.
I joined Couger after working in residential sales, in-house SE, and consulting. My experience in system development and project promotion has been put to good use, but since Couger uses a very flexible agile development style, the boundaries between roles are low, and I just do what needs to be done at the time.
I once worked for a foreign company, but most of the employees were Japanese, and even the foreigners could speak Japanese, so there were few opportunities to use English within the company or in projects. In contrast, at Couger, English is used in daily internal meetings. Because the atmosphere is one of "getting the message across is important" and people can speak without fear, even those who were not very good at English when they joined the company are gradually able to speak it. As a result, I can work with a high level of global members, which is one of the best things about working at Couger.