Takeaki Imai

Engineering Manager

Career Summary

I completed a degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Tokyo and joined NTT Laboratories in 2015. There I worked on the distributed processing framework Jubatus for online machine learning and engaged in various R&D projects, including models for analyzing human flow during events. In 2018, I became Executive Officer and CTO at a startup providing IoT SaaS for production management in manufacturing. Driven by the desire to transform manufacturing through the power of platforms and data, I joined CADDi in January 2021. After leading R&D as a product manager for drawing analysis, I launched AI Lab and led product management there. I now heads the Data Platform Division, leading cross-product data infrastructure and the use of machine learning and AI in products, with the theme of creating culture through technology.

Why I Joined

I attended one of CADDi's hiring events when a major phase of development at my previous company had come to an end. I had known about CADDi for about a year and a half and thought its work on automatic quotation for 3D CAD looked technically fascinating. What impressed me most at the event, besides how enjoyable it was, was how deeply the company's strategy and culture had permeated the organization—everyone was able to talk about the company in their own words. From my previous experience, I had also learned that manufacturing is an industry that cannot be transformed by technology alone, so I was curious about CADDi's approach. When I heard that the company had shifted from approaching many areas of manufacturing with technology as the hook to narrowing its focus as its understanding of the industry deepened, and that its products and technologies had evolved accordingly, I felt a strong sense of vision and commitment. I decided to join because I believed this was a company where everyone was genuinely serious about tackling the challenges of manufacturing.

Role at CADDi

After joining CADDi, I worked as a product manager for drawing analysis, pursuing ways to structure drawing information and apply it to real use cases. As a result, we were able to improve internal operational efficiency and apply the outcomes to core SaaS technologies. Building on my previous experience, I also explored opportunities for machine learning and launched AI Lab. There, I led R&D in areas such as drawing analysis and similar-search algorithms, contributing to the development of key features in CADDi's SaaS product, Drawer. Today, as head of the Data Platform Division, I lead the development of the data foundation that supports multiple products as well as the integration of machine learning and AI into those products.