Stepping Down as Manager to Continue
as an Engineer Once Involved
in Early AI Development
QA engineer, Research
and Development Department
Shigeki Nagaya
Sasaki：How did you find yourself at Neural Group?
Nagaya：In terms of my background, I first started as a research manager at Hitachi Ltd. where I was primarily involved in budget management, development, and PoC implementation. At the time we worked on the development of facial recognition AI for surveillance cameras, as well as other AI applications. At the time in the early 2000s, the implementation of facial recognition in digital cameras was still in its infancy, and the amount of data collected was minuscule in comparison to what we have today. It was a lonesome time to be an AI engineer. AI was still largely unknown, and we were often confronted with having to explain what exactly AI is.
While I spent many years pursuing a career in development, I found myself with an increasing desire to try my hand at business management. This led to a decision to leave Hitachi and take over the family business. Working in nursing care was a rewarding experience and running a business provided me with many interesting challenges. However, my passion for development had not died out. In 2016 I came across a Facebook post from a former colleague that offered a glimpse at the scintillating experience successfully developing an AI gives. I figured, if I get this much pleasure from seeing my former colleague succeed, I should get back to AI development. While I was well aware of the risks of changing professions at my age, I decided to act on this newfound passion for development and resolved to change careers.
Sasaki：You must have had plenty of options to choose from.
What made you chose Neural Group?
Nagaya：While an acquaintance of mine recommended several AI firms, the unpredictability of Neural Group’s business activities really stood out to me. Having a main product related to fashion blew my mind.
The change in the workplace environment felt after joining the company was eye-opening for me. In the past AI development was normally performed by individuals specializing in mathematics, but now we have many people, such as yourself, Mr. Sasaki, who have come onboard from a physics background. Changing the backbone to AI development brings new ways in which the same phenomena is interpreted. I feel that AI is a field that has developed dramatically with the implementation of data science.
Sasaki：What was your impression of the company after joining?
Nagaya： I got a strong sense that Neural Group was a place that made prompt decisions and swiftly acted upon them. You could say that the company is good at pruning. We prioritize required functions and eliminate anything that is not needed, delivering our users exactly what they need. At larger companies, unnecessary features may sometimes be added just because the “department head said so”, but at Neural Group this is not the case. It is a great place to work as a developer.
Sasaki：Lastly, what type of person do you think would fit in well at Neural Group?
Nagaya： I feel like people that want to swiftly see a product’s release are suited to Neural Group. In a big company, the sense of speed felt in work varies greatly from division to division. At Neural Group, product development times are short, ensuring scenarios where development ties directly back into business. This is why we are able to rapidly release our products on a wide scale. I feel that many developers share a common pleasure in seeing what they have had a hand in making being used out in the wild.
As an aside, Neural Group is also a company that prides itself on its diversity. The people on our team come from all over the world, and are of a broad age range. I think it is rare for such a small company to have this level of diversity. I am older than the fathers of some of our younger team members, which spurs me on to lead by example. In this respect, Neural Group offers a stimulating environment to work in for an engineer.
