Program Manager

Why should you choose us

Rakuten Symphony is reimagining telecom, changing supply chain norms and disrupting outmoded thinking that threatens the industry's pursuit of rapid innovation and growth. Based on proven modern infrastructure practices, its open interface platforms make it possible to launch and operate advanced mobile services in a fraction of the time and cost of conventional approaches, with no compromise to network quality or security. Rakuten Symphony has operations in Japan, the United States, Singapore, India, South Korea, Europe, and the Middle East Africa region. For more information, visit: https://symphony.rakuten.com

Building on the technology Rakuten used to launch Japan's newest mobile network, we are taking our mobile offering global.

To support our ambitions to provide an innovative cloud-native telco platform for our customers, Rakuten Symphony is looking to recruit and develop top talent from around the globe. We are looking for individuals to join our team across all functional areas of our business – from sales to engineering, support functions to product development.

Let's build the future of mobile telecommunications together!

About Rakuten Group, Inc. (TSE: 4755) is a global leader in internet services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Founded in Tokyo in 1997 as an online marketplace, Rakuten has expanded to offer services in e-commerce, fintech, digital content and communications to approximately 2 billion members around the world. The Rakuten Group has over 30,000 employees, and operations in 30 countries and regions. For more information visit https://global.rakuten.com/corp/.

Job Summary :

As a E2E Delivery/Program Manager role you are experts who ensure high-quality execution, remove daily blockers, and guarantee that products/services meet client expectations. You operate at a strategic level, coordinating multiple related projects to achieve high-level business goals and long-term benefits. This role requires good understanding of domain, technical and analytical skills, attention to detail, and a passion for delivering exceptional software experiences.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Full Lifecycle Oversight: Manage the E2E process, including project initiation, requirements gathering, development, testing, and final deployment.
• Strategic Planning: Develop comprehensive roadmaps, project plans, and milestones to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• Cross-Functional Leadership: Coordinate between diverse teams such as Engineering, QA, UX Design, Finance, and Operations.
• Risk & Dependency Management: Proactively identify bottlenecks, manage interdependencies across workstreams, and implement mitigation plans.
• Stakeholder & Vendor Management: Act as the primary point of contact for clients and senior leadership, managing expectations and overseeing third-party partner delivery.
• Performance Monitoring: Track and report on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like delivery velocity, budget adherence, and customer satisfaction

Required Skills & Experience:

• Project Methodologies: Deep expertise in Agile, Scrum, Kanban, or Waterfall frameworks.
• Technical Acumen: Understanding of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), CI/CD pipelines, and domain-specific systems (e.g., ERP, Supply Chain, or Cloud Infrastructure).
• Tools: Proficiency in management tools like Jira, Azure DevOps, Microsoft Project, or Asana.
• Financial Management: Ability to manage project budgets, resource allocation, and cost-efficiency.
• Education/Certifications: Typically a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or Business, often supported by certifications like PMP, Prince2, or CSM.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Proven experience as a Delivery/Program Manager.
• Strong communication skills across engineering and leadership teams.
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.

Good to Have:

• Experience in Telco / large-scale platforms.
• Exposure to AI in delivery.
• Experience building internal observability products.

RAKUTEN SHUGI PRINCIPLES:

Our worldwide practices describe specific behaviors that make Rakuten unique and united across the world. We expect Rakuten employees to model these 5 Shugi Principles of Success.

• Always improve, always advance. Only be satisfied with complete success - Kaizen.
• Be passionately professional. Take an uncompromising approach to your work and be determined to be the best.
• Hypothesize - Practice - Validate - Shikumika. Use the Rakuten Cycle to success in unknown territory.
• Maximize Customer Satisfaction. The greatest satisfaction for workers in a service industry is to see their customers smile.
• Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! Always be conscious of time. Take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team.