Outreach Specialist (Driver of Research PR & Co-innovation) - Mercari

Role summary

Outreach Specialist (Driver of Research PR & Co-innovation) - Mercari is a full-time role at Mercari, inc. in Minato, Japan (hybrid). Posted 2026-10-27. Experience level: 2-5.

Job title

Outreach Specialist (Driver of Research PR & Co-innovation) - Mercari

Company

Mercari, inc.

Location

Minato, Japan

Work arrangement

hybrid

Employment type

full-time

Category

Logistics & Warehousing

Experience level

2-5

Date posted

2026-10-27

Job description

in Japanese follows. 英文の後に和文JDをご覧いただけます。

Outreach Specialist (Driver of Research PR & Co-innovation) - Mercari Employment Status: Full-time

Work Hours: Flextime system (no core hours)

Office: Roppongi

For details, see the Overview of Our Positions section of our Careers site.

About Mercari Group Circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people “What can I do to help society thrive with the finite resources we have?” The Mercari marketplace app was born in 2013 out of this thought by our founder Shintaro Yamada as he traveled the world. We believe that by circulating all forms of value, not just physical things and money, we can create opportunities for anyone to realize their dreams and contribute to society and the people around them.

Mercari aims to use technology to connect people all over the world and create a world where anyone can unleash their potential. You can learn more about our mission on the Culture page of our Careers site.

Organization/Team Mission Team Mission and Expectations of the Role

R4D is a research and development organization established with the mission of "pioneering the path toward undiscovered value" and a focus on real-world implementation. By bridging the communities of industry, academia, and government to promote a co-innovation approach and leveraging science and technology to resolve complex social issues, R4D strives to realize Mercari's aim to circulate our limited resources and build a future where anyone can unleash their potential.

R4D conducts research on how value is created, exchanged, and circulated throughout society, starting from the C2C platform at the core of Mercari Group's business. We explore everything from advanced technologies that will redefine the future of C2C platforms to the relationship between technology, people, and society. For our main research areas, see here.

The R4D organization consists of an R&D Team composed of researchers and engineers and a Research Acceleration Team composed of specialists in research organization management, such as project management and PR, with members hailing from around the world.

In this position, you will join the Outreach Team, which drives research PR and co-innovation, and take on a wide range of tasks related to planning and promoting communications that connect R4D's research with society.

About the Outreach Specialist Position

R4D's research is aimed at realizing the society that Mercari's Group mission envisions. In addition to advanced technologies such as AI and robotics, we work to contribute to the realization of a circular society and explore how people, technology, and society relate. You will design and carry out our outreach stories, spanning research PR and co-innovation, to communicate to stakeholders including academia, industry, government, and Mercari users the future our research envisions in an easy-to-understand format and how our research expands from empathy to co-innovation.

The Outreach Team's mission is to "grow a global community that shares Mercari’s vision for society and works together to bring that vision to life." Beyond communicating our research to society, we connect industry, academia, and government and create co-innovation with new partners. With outreach-driven research promotion and communication as our strength, we create symbolic cases that let people experience the future our research envisions, leading to the development of new research areas.

Notable past initiatives:

Science Agora (2023): Report (available only in Japanese)

Establishment of the Mercari R4D Research Alliance Laboratory at Osaka University (2025): English article; event report (available only in Japanese)

Green Friday Project 2025: planned and exhibited "Green Signal," which visualizes CO2 reduction contributions in real time: Article (available only in Japanese)

Research outreach through short videos on the "Mercari R4D Lab" channel, introducing research intended to improve society: Instagram, TikTok

We hope to hear from people who are interested in building an organization from the ground up and expanding their network of stakeholders and partner institutions, and who find fulfillment from working and communicating with people from diverse backgrounds.

To learn more about Mercari’s mission and values, see the Culture page of our Careers site.

Work Responsibilities Working with researchers, the Research Program Management Team, and Mercari's corporate PR team, you will plan and carry out our outreach strategy from start to finish. By raising awareness of R4D in Japan and overseas through communication and the expansion of co-innovation, you will work to increase cases of research and real-world implementation to help create the society Mercari aims to realize.

Specific responsibilities include:

Planning and carrying out the outreach strategy

Communicating research results, and planning and directing exhibits at conferences and events held in Japan and overseas

Writing press releases, and handling interviews, inquiries, and media relations

Planning and operating owned media platforms (the R4D website and social media)

Driving research projects that originate from outreach

Discovering new research themes and collaborators

Unique Challenges You will be able to contribute to Mercari's mission to circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people by being involved in cutting-edge research.

You will be challenged with implementing research in society.

Although R4D is part of a private company, we actively collaborate with researchers from universities and conduct research that is not bound by conventional frameworks. You will have the opportunity to plan and carry out long-term outreach for this kind of research.

While R4D is an independent research organization within Mercari Group, you will have access to technical input from products used by as many as 20 million users a month, such as the Mercari marketplace