To make AI more accessible, great user experience is essential. At JAPAN AI, the UI/UX team plays a critical role in shaping the face of our platform—the web application that users interact with every day. Their work goes far beyond design: from optimizing application performance to introducing new features that enhance usability, the team ensures that every interaction feels seamless and intuitive.

In this interview, we speak with Wai Pai Lee, a UI/UX engineer at JAPAN AI, about his career journey, the mission of his team, and what makes working at JAPAN AI unique and rewarding.

Please provide a brief self-introduction and your background.

My first encounter with AI dates back to around 2014 during my undergraduate years. At that time, big data was becoming a hot topic, and deep learning was just starting to emerge as a major research area. I conducted computer vision research at my university’s big data research center, working on improving image recognition accuracy with deep learning. This gave me firsthand experience of AI’s transformative potential.

After graduation, I worked in the software engineering industry across various domains such as PA systems, fintech, and e-commerce marketplaces. Each project exposed me to unique challenges that broadened my technical foundation. Eventually, I joined JAPAN AI, which allowed me to return to AI-driven projects. Recently, I have focused on frontend development, while also experimenting with personal side projects to explore new technologies.

What aspects of JAPAN AI resonated with you and led you to join the company?

Following the AI industry closely, I noticed that most companies adopting AI are tech companies. Non-tech companies still face high barriers to adoption, leaving much potential untapped. I believe lowering this barrier and enabling wider AI use is highly meaningful. JAPAN AI is directly addressing this challenge, and that mission strongly resonated with me.

Were there any particularly memorable tasks or projects you've worked on since joining?

Although I’ve only been here for two months, I found two tasks particularly memorable: improving webpage performance and refining theme colors. Performance improvements directly affect how fast and smooth users experience the application, while color refinements enhanced consistency and accessibility. These may look like small changes, but they make a big difference in usability.

Please tell me about your team’s mission and your role within the team.

The UI/UX team’s mission is to ensure a smooth and enjoyable user experience for the JAPAN AI web application. We work on a wide range of areas including refining UI design, optimizing performance, and introducing features that enhance user convenience. My role as a frontend engineer is to bridge design and implementation, collaborating closely with designers and backend engineers to deliver interfaces that are both beautiful and highly functional.

What are the most technically challenging parts of your work? And how do you tackle them?

JAPAN AI’s application offers many features, which means it requires numerous tools and dependencies. This complexity can make the application heavy and impact performance. To address this, we set clear development standards and design internal tools to support developers. Balancing rapid feature delivery with performance optimization is one of the toughest but also most rewarding challenges.

What are the features of JAPAN AI’s product development?

A defining characteristic is the strong emphasis on user experience. It’s not just about adding new features but continuously refining performance, usability, and design. Even incremental improvements are valued, as they build long-term trust and reliability with users.

Please describe your typical daily workflow.

I start my day by checking Slack messages and emails, followed by scanning industry news to stay updated. Then I prioritize my tasks for the day. Mornings are often used for planning and design, while afternoons are dedicated to coding and reviewing. I also discuss design or specifications with teammates when needed, and finish the day by reflecting on accomplishments and preparing for tomorrow.