NanoFrontier Selected for Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Global South High-Skilled Talent Internship Program
Selected as a Host Company for the “Global South - Japan Tech Talent Internship” Program — Welcoming Highly Skilled STEM Talent in a Software Engineering Role to Accelerate R&D Automation
NanoFrontier Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Sendai, Miyagi; Representative Director: Seiya Inoue; hereinafter “NanoFrontier”) is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a host company for the “Global South - Japan Tech Talent Internship” (hereinafter “the Program”), implemented under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s FY2025 supplementary budget initiative “Co-Creation with the Global South through Technology and Human Resource Collaboration (Human Resource Platform Program for Attracting Excellent IT/AI Talent).” Through this Program, NanoFrontier will welcome highly skilled STEM talent from overseas in a software engineering role to advance the automation of its research and development activities.
Background of the Selection
It is estimated that Japan’s domestic IT talent shortage could reach a gap of up to approximately 790,000 people by 2030 (Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, “Survey on IT Human Resource Supply and Demand (Overview),” April 2019). Companies seeking to build their own AI and data infrastructure are increasingly looking for talent both domestically and internationally.
In materials development, this trend manifests in a more complex form — because success requires both the ability to run experiments and the ability to treat experimental results as structured information. NanoFrontier has identified the construction of an R&D automation pipeline that integrates manufacturing process simulation, AI, and robotic evaluation as a key strategic focus, and is working to build a team that combines expertise in chemistry and materials science with strong software implementation capabilities.
In Global South countries, the pool of STEM talent studying AI and data-related fields is growing in depth and breadth. This Program represents a national effort to create pathways connecting such talent with Japanese companies. For NanoFrontier, this internship marks the first opportunity to work hands-on alongside international students.
What We Will Work on Through This Program
Through this Program, NanoFrontier will pursue the following initiatives:
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Advancing R&D Automation Interns will join as software engineers and work on automating research and development by combining simulation, AI, and robotic evaluation. The goal is to move closer to a state where the full cycle — from experimental design to evaluation — can run with minimal manual intervention.
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Building a Framework to Treat Experimental Data as an Asset We will establish a foundation for accumulating data generated from daily experiments in a form that enables recording, analysis, and reuse. The aim is to create a state where development accelerates as more data is collected.
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Developing a Welcoming Environment Through the actual process of hosting international members — including communication in English — we will build an environment where people coming from overseas can perform at their best.
Looking Ahead
Our immediate focus is on executing this internship thoughtfully and taking a meaningful step forward in R&D automation. Building out automation and data infrastructure will enhance the reproducibility of manufacturing conditions and lay the groundwork for transitioning to small-scale production. The experience gained through this internship will also inform how we think about structuring our development team going forward. NanoFrontier will continue to make steady progress toward establishing a system capable of manufacturing materials in-house and ensuring a stable supply.
Careers
NanoFrontier is building a team capable of handling everything in-house — from nanoparticle manufacturing and evaluation to data infrastructure development — and is actively hiring in the research and engineering domains. For open positions and application details, please visit our careers site.
Careers site: https://careers.nanofrontier.jp
Comment from the CEO
“I am deeply honored by this selection. Materials development only accelerates when two capabilities come together: the ability to run experiments, and the ability to treat the resulting data as structured information. We want to be a company that holds both of those capabilities in-house, and we intend to bring together the talent needed to do so regardless of nationality or institutional affiliation. Companies, too, are agents of knowledge creation, and I believe that technology grounded in scientific principles — however long it takes — ultimately generates long-term value and sustained innovation. We will approach this internship with full commitment, and make it a meaningful experience both for those who join us and for NanoFrontier itself.”
Seiya Inoue, Representative Director
About the “Global South - Japan Tech Talent Internship”
This Program is implemented under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s FY2025 supplementary budget initiative “Co-Creation with the Global South through Technology and Human Resource Collaboration (Human Resource Platform Program for Attracting Excellent IT/AI Talent).” It is designed to provide highly skilled STEM talent from Global South countries — particularly those studying IT, AI, semiconductors, and related fields — with opportunities for internships and employment at Japanese companies, with the aim of promoting hiring and talent exchange at Japanese and Japan-affiliated companies. The program secretariat is operated by Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support Co., Ltd. and Tech Japan Co., Ltd.
Official website: https://gs-jti.go.jp/
Company Profile
- Company Name: NanoFrontier Co., Ltd.
- Representative: Seiya Inoue, Representative Director
- Address: Room 215, Material Solutions Center (MaSC), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi Prefecture
- Established: April 7, 2025
- Business Activities:
- R&D, manufacturing, and sales of reagents and functional materials using organic nanoparticle technologies
- Contract manufacturing of organic nanoparticles and provision of related technologies
- Technology licensing and consulting in the field of organic nanoparticle technologies
- Website: https://nanofrontier.jp