I started my career in production technology development at a chemical materials manufacturer, went on to a consulting firm for the manufacturing industry, and later worked in DX and AI talent development at a staffing company. Somewhere along the way I became interested in MI, and I changed jobs because I wanted to commit to it properly. Looking back, I think I've had that feeling — 'I want to do work that supports researchers in the materials industry' — ever since my very first job at that manufacturer.

Something I still remember from my interview at MI-6 is hearing the passionate line, 'Let's go and see the future where MI has become widespread, together.' Those words conveyed a genuine ambition to make society better through MI, and I thought, 'I want to work here too.'

MI-6 has all kinds of roles, and the person who interviewed me suggested, 'I think this one could suit you' — the Customer Success Manager role. It's a role that connects data analysis specialists with clients, running alongside people who have a problem or feel lost, so they can reach the goal they're aiming for. It was a field where I could draw on my past experience, and I found it appealing.

Right now, my role is to oversee and support the progress of projects within Hands-on MI®, our contracted analysis service. In line with each client's requests and challenges, I work with data scientists to build a roadmap, and manage the project — liaising with the client — to keep things on schedule and get the best possible results towards that goal.

While a project is under way, data scientists regularly report the analysis results to the client, but there are times when it can be hard for a client to raise something directly with the data scientist. At moments like that, part of our role is to ask, from a neutral standpoint, 'Was there any result that caught your interest?', to draw out the client's honest feedback. When I first joined, I was really just running on enthusiasm, but after hearing from so many clients, I think I now have a much clearer sense of what customer success really means.

What I find rewarding is when a client reacts with 'I'd never noticed that before!' or 'I never expected it to work out this well!' — for example, when a new candidate material is found, or when we can work out the factor behind a particular phenomenon. Even veteran researchers have that same eye-opening moment thanks to MI, and getting to witness that first-hand is something unique to this job.

What I love about MI-6 is being able to work with colleagues who are genuinely passionate about what they do. Day to day, we mainly work remotely, but I'd say we get together offsite with someone from the company about once a month. The Hands-on MI® team meets up in person once a quarter, and we spend the whole day discussing things together. Beyond reviewing the past three months, there's setting goals and initiatives for the next three, and even talking about the slightly more distant future, like 'It would be great to land a project like this one day.' There's no end to what we discuss. I feel, more than ever, that MI is something society will absolutely need going forward, and that being able to work towards spreading it is genuinely valuable.

Going forward, I'd like to move beyond just pinpoint support — like putting a plaster over whatever's visible — and do more to co-create value with clients at a more fundamental level. To help more people feel that MI is within their reach, I want to keep doing my best, enjoying even the uncertain parts along the way.