Operational Support Specialist, AI & Automation

Job Description:

Rakuten International is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc., a Japanese global technology leader in services that empower individuals, communities, businesses and society. Headquartered in San Mateo, California with more than 4,000 employees worldwide, the Rakuten International business portfolio includes market leaders in e-commerce, digital marketing, advertising, communications and entertainment. We create products and services that provide exceptional value by aligning members and the businesses that want to engage them in a shared community.

Rakuten Advertising provides advertising technology and consumer insights to the world’s leading brands and retailers. Working with agencies and brands around the world, Rakuten Advertising unites technology, client strategy and consumer insights to deliver advertising experiences that drive increased brand awareness and marketing performance. With access to Rakuten’s diverse media properties and audiences, combined with an award-winning performance network and proprietary consumer research, Rakuten Advertising creates the right conditions to reach new customers and sustain long-lasting loyalty.

Job Summary:

The Operational Support Specialist will be responsible for managing and executing advertiser validation processes, ensuring accuracy, compliance and timely delivery of validation results within established SLA’s. This role works closely with System Analysis, Analytics and Client Services teams to investigate discrepancies, resolve data issues and support continuous process improvements of our processes and internal tools.
The position offers the opportunity to work with a combination of operational expertise, problem-solving, and automation initiatives in a fast-paced environment.

In this role, you will provide frontline support to customers by addressing inquiries, troubleshooting product issues, and ensuring prompt resolution of concerns. In this role, you will leverage product knowledge and problem-solving skills to deliver accurate information and guidance. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to escalate complex issues and contribute to improving customer satisfaction. Your focus on clear communication and timely responses will help maintain strong customer relationships and support organizational goals.

Key Responsibilities:

• Administers product-related tasks by managing defined components of product support processes, ensuring timely and effective resolution of customer inquiries.
• Analyzes somewhat complex product issues to determine root causes, troubleshoot, and recommend solutions that align with customer needs and company guidelines.
• Applies knowledge of product features and operational systems to resolve more complex product-related inquiries and ensure customer satisfaction.
• Communicates effectively with customers to deliver clear and concise explanations of product features, updates, and troubleshooting steps, providing solutions that meet their needs.
• Coordinates somewhat complex product-related tasks between departments, ensuring that product-related issues are escalated or resolved efficiently.
• Evaluates customer feedback and identifies opportunities to improve product functionality, reporting insights to the relevant internal teams for consideration in product development.
• Implements solutions to product-related issues and ensures that all support tasks are handled in a timely and accurate manner, improving the overall customer experience.
• Documents product-related issues and resolutions accurately, maintaining comprehensive records for reference and training purposes.
• Provides guidance and support to junior team members, assisting with product-related queries and helping to streamline processes within the team.
• Execute validation processes by reviewing transaction data, commission calculations, and advertiser-submitted documentation to ensure accuracy, completeness and compliance with established guidelines.
• Investigate validation exceptions and data discrepancies through detailed analysis of reporting outputs, transaction records and operational systems, identifying root causes and supporting resolution efforts.
• Monitor validation workflows and service level agreements (SLAs), proactively identifying risks, gaps and opportunities to improve processes and operational efficiency.
• Partner with cross-functional teams, including Analytics, Client Services and Systems Analysis, to resolve validation-related issues, support the successful execution of advertiser validation programs and serve as a key stakeholder in the testing and automation and AI-driven process improvements.
• Contribute to process improvement and automation initiatives by identifying recurring manual tasks, recommending workflow optimizations and supporting the implementation of scalable solutions.

Qualifications:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Required:

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Experience working with large datasets and data validation processes.
• Strong attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and verbal English communication skills.
• Comfortable leveraging AI-assisted tools to improve productivity, problem-solving and operational efficiency.
   

Nice to Have:

• Experience with process improvement, automation or operational efficiency initiatives.
• Experience participating in system testing, user acceptance testing (UAT) or implementation projects.
• Familiarity with AI-powered tools and automation technologies.
• Basic knowledge of Python or other scripting languages.

Minimum Requirements:

• 2-4 years Required
• 5-7 years Preferred
• Bachelor's Degree Required
• Master's Degree Preferred

Five Principles for Success
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
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 succeed in unknown territory
Maximize Customer Satisfaction - The greatest satisfaction for our teams is seeing their customers smile
Speed!! Speed!! Speed!! - Always be conscious of time - take charge, set clear goals, and engage your team