Compliance & Governance Specialist

Skills

About the Role

You will build, operate, and continuously improve company-wide compliance, privacy, risk management, and governance frameworks. You will translate regulatory requirements and emerging risks into practical internal policies, procedures, controls, and reporting processes. You will work with legal, management, and Applied, Product, R&D, and Corporate stakeholders to identify, assess, prioritize, mitigate, and monitor risks. You will also support export-control compliance, track AI and other regulatory developments, operate risk and compliance committee processes, and improve operations through standardization, data analysis, automation, and generative AI.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of practical experience in in-house legal, compliance, risk management, privacy, internal controls, or a related field.
• Experience building, implementing, and operating compliance programs, risk management systems, internal control processes, or related governance initiatives.
• Ability to analyze complex issues, identify material risks, prioritize them, and develop concrete responses.
• Ability to clearly explain risk and response policies to diverse technical and business stakeholders and drive execution.
• Experience planning and leading cross-functional projects and coordinating stakeholders.
• Advanced Japanese business proficiency and English business communication skills.
• Interest in AI technologies, particularly large language models and AI agents, and willingness to continue learning about their characteristics and risks.

Responsibilities

• Build, operate, and improve company-wide compliance policies, internal rules, procedures, and control systems.
• Provide compliance training, awareness activities, and practical guidance to internal departments.
• Identify and address privacy risks in AI research, product development, and service operations.
• Develop data governance, privacy risk assessment, and personal-data protection measures.
• Track Japanese and international privacy laws and incorporate changes into internal rules and processes.
• Build and continuously improve the enterprise risk management framework.
• Identify, assess, prioritize, mitigate, and monitor company-wide risks.
• Report and escalate material or emerging risks to management.
• Plan and operate risk and compliance committee meetings, materials, reporting, risk registers, and follow-up actions.
• Clarify risk and compliance roles, responsibilities, approval authorities, and escalation routes.
• Support export-control and security trade compliance, including transaction reviews and technology-transfer controls.
• Monitor AI, privacy, cybersecurity, and other relevant regulatory developments and assess their business impact.
• Partner with business and R&D functions to identify risks early and develop practical solutions.
• Standardize and improve control processes, documentation, reporting, monitoring, data analysis, automation, and generative AI use.

Hiring Process

Find a role; email careers@sakana.ai with a brief introduction and the role; submit the Google Form with a CV and English cover letter.