Project Manager in Paris

Job Description

The Cloud Platform Supervisory Department (CPSD) team is part of a global IT ecosystem spanning Japan, the US, Europe, and India. You will join the EU team based in Paris. We design, operate, and evolve Rakuten's private cloud platform, supporting the global infrastructure that thousands of engineers and services depend on every day. This is a role for someone who genuinely enjoys being at the center of complex technical work: understanding what the team is building, making sure projects move forward, and helping engineers focus on what they do best by handling everything around the engineering. You will be the primary point of contact for project status, and the main interface with stakeholders in Paris and, when needed, with teams in Japan and the US.

Mission

• End-to-end ownership of project delivery across infrastructure, network engineering, and platform initiatives, from initial scoping through to completion.
• Keeping a clear and up-to-date picture of every active project: status, risks, blockers, dependencies, and next steps.
• Identifying and removing blockers early, before they slow the team down, escalating when needed and following through until resolved.
• Working closely with engineers to understand what each project needs, coordinating the logistics, dependencies, and communication so the team can stay focused on delivery.
• Communicating project status clearly and regularly to leadership and, when necessary, to global teams in Japan and the US, adapting the level of detail to the audience.
• Using delivery data to spot patterns, identify where the team can improve, and bring concrete, actionable proposals to the table.
• Working with the team to set realistic timelines and expectations, pushing for completion in a way that is motivating, not overwhelming.
• Occasional travel to Japan or other Rakuten sites may be required.

Your Profile

You hold a degree in IT, engineering, or project management (or equivalent experience), and have a proven track record of delivering technical projects in an infrastructure or platform engineering environment. You thrive at the center of complex, fast-moving projects. You take ownership naturally, keep things moving, and bring the clarity that lets the rest of the team focus on their work. You are a confident communicator across cultures and time zones, whether you are running a team sync in Paris, writing an update for Tokyo, or presenting to a program manager in the US. You are curious about data. You use it to understand how the team is delivering, where friction builds up, and how things could work better, and you enjoy finding the answers. You'll be part of an international team, so fluent English is mandatory.

Required skills

• A strong track record of delivering technical projects end-to-end, with genuine ownership and consistent follow-through, gained in an environment close enough to engineering to understand what projects actually involve, not just how to manage them on paper.
• Ability to work directly and effectively with network engineers, cloud engineers, and operations specialists, building trust and clarity without adding overhead.
• Comfort sitting in technical conversations without being the engineer: able to follow the discussion, evaluate risks independently, and ask the right questions to form your own view.
• Familiarity with working across Japan, the US, and European counterparts: aware of communication differences and able to adapt accordingly.
• Hands-on experience with delivery tooling: Jira, Confluence, and reporting tools such as Domo.
• Comfortable using AI-assisted productivity tools (e.g. Claude) as part of daily work.

Optional

• Experience with cloud platforms (private or public: AWS, GCP, Azure), particularly on infrastructure or network projects.
• Familiarity with network or infrastructure concepts (BGP, VXLAN, datacenter environments), not required, but valued.
• Exposure to automation or scripting (Python, Ansible) in a project coordination context.
• Proficiency in Japanese would be a great plus

As an employer

As an employer, Rakuten Tech in Europe is committed to developing an inclusive working environment. Access to employment is open to all, regardless of gender, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or social status. Within the Rakuten Group, we are part of the Global Innovation Hub, called Technology Divisions, represented by almost 6,000 people, present in Japan, India, China, America and Europe. Rakuten Tech in Europe is the regional organization for the members of the technology divisions based in Europe. This organization provides global platforms to support the businesses in the Rakuten ecosystem and enhances these global platforms according to the use cases of the businesses, within Europe and worldwide. More than 70% of Rakuten Tech projects in Europe support businesses in Japan, including Ichiba, Rakuten’s e-commerce marketplace. Rakuten Tech offers the opportunity to collaborate with all of Rakuten's technical teams around the world, and to play a key role in the success and evolution of the group's businesses. The first global technical team in Europe was created in 2012 and initially had 3 members. Today, Rakuten Tech in Europe represents over 130 members, present in 7 countries and 12 offices. We are present in France (Paris), Spain (Barcelona), UK (Belfast), Estonia (Tallin), and Germany (Berlin). We represent a multicultural team, 5 official languages and 3 time zones. We collaborate daily with the teams in Japan. Each person can collaborate with the whole world as English is the common language adopted by Rakuten globally. Rakuten Tech in Europe teams work on product/platform development, service delivery/integration and service operations for a range of products/platforms and services covering e-commerce, big data, search, product recommendations, blockchain, data science, business intelligence, information security, user identity management, corporate IT, and data centers and infrastructure. We are looking for talent that supports the achievement of Rakuten's business strategies and sustainable growth. As a learning organization, you will have the opportunity to develop your potential and grow within the group.

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