Intern - Software Engineer, AI User Experience

Rakuten • San Mateo, CA

1d

About The Position

Rakuten AI strives to be your Rakuten AI companion, providing the best AI user experience — generally, contextually, and personally. Rakuten AI aims to serve as the AI Core of the Rakuten ecosystem, enhancing interconnections between Rakuten services and users to delight customers worldwide more than ever before. This role involves advancing the AI user experience to serve as the foundational core across the Rakuten products ecosystem by developing innovative AI user experience framework. The ideal candidate will have a strong passion for building solid, flexible, and immersive AI user experiences using state-of-the-art technologies and will contribute to a unified vision that enhances Rakuten AI foundation at scale. We also welcome exceptional engineers from diverse fields who may not have direct experience in AI. This role is an opportunity to gain critical skills and knowledge needed to transition into the AI space. We are dedicated to supporting career changers who bring unique perspectives and expertise. Our commitment includes offering mentorship and resources to facilitate your growth in cutting-edge AI domains.

Requirements

• Proficiency in front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and experience with at least one modern front-end framework (e.g., React, Angular, or Vue).
• Proficiency in Back-End Development, knowledgeable of server-side languages such as C#, Java, Python, Node.js, Ruby, or PHP and familiarity with building RESTful APIs and knowledgeable of Web Development Frameworks
• Knowledge/familiarity with variety of data schema design, and database management, e.g. relational databases (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) and/or NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra).
• Proficiency in debugging and problem-solving across both front-end and back-end systems.
• Ability to write clean, maintainable code, adherence to coding standards and best practices, with a focus on creating well-organized, readable, and maintainable code.
• Adaptability and willingness to learn, ability to quickly learn new technologies and adapt to changing project requirements.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s Degree or above in Computer Science or related field or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with testing practices and experience with unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing.
• Experience in AI-related projects or products strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Design, build, and maintain front-end and back-end features for web applications, ensuring they are scalable and high-performing.
• Use HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue to create intuitive and responsive user interfaces.
• Build server-side logic and APIs using technologies like Node.js, Python, Java, or Ruby.
• Build highly flexible, scalable Agentic AI Framework by leveraging popular AI toolset like LangChain etc.
• Design and manage databases, such as MySQL, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, or others, ensuring efficient data storage and retrieval.
• Integrate external APIs and services, such as OpenAI APIs, payment gateways, social media APIs, or analytics tools, as needed.
• Write unit, integration, and end-to-end tests, troubleshoot issues, and resolve bugs across the full stack of the application.
• Improve performance by optimizing application code, databases, and server configurations to reduce latency and increase efficiency.

Benefits

• professional development workshops
• interactions with Rakuten leadership
• relationship building opportunities with other interns and professionals at the company

What This Job Offers

• Career Level: Intern