At Rakuten, I worked as an Application Engineer in the Artificial Intelligence and Data Department, focusing on search technologies that support both the company's e-commerce platform and its many digital services. My role centered on building scalable systems in Python that improved how users discover and interact with Rakuten's offerings.
I built and optimized search engine features, improved retrieval pipelines, and contributed to projects aimed at making search more accurate and efficient at scale. A major highlight was developing a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, which served as a critical integration layer between advanced AI tools and Rakuten's infrastructure. This required not only solid Python engineering but also a strong understanding of distributed systems and interoperability, ensuring the server could reliably handle large-scale data flows and support diverse services.
I also had the opportunity to work with cutting-edge development tools such as Cursor and Claude Code, which accelerated experimentation and collaboration. Partnering with data scientists, backend engineers, and product managers, I helped translate complex business needs into robust technical solutions that could scale across Rakuten's ecosystem.
This experience deepened my expertise in Python development, large-scale search systems, and modern AI workflows, while reinforcing the importance of adaptability and collaboration in delivering high-impact technology.