Curriculum Vitae
Junichi Shimizu
Creative AI Engineer & Researcher
Profile
Product-minded researcher and engineer with 9+ years in Sony R&D, specializing in generative music, Human–Computer Interaction, and AI-based creative tools. I work from research and model prototyping through interaction design, full-stack implementation, and team leadership. My work has also contributed to intellectual property across generative music, context-aware media, gesture interaction, haptics, and shape-changing interfaces.
Download PDFExperience
2023 — Present
Development Lead, AI-powered Spatial Creation Tools
Sony Group Corporation · Tokyo
- Leading product definition and development for spatial content creation workflows at the intersection of AI and creative tooling.
- Working across technical strategy, UI/UX design, TypeScript, Next.js, Python, and PyTorch implementation.
- Led a five-person engineering team within a larger cross-functional program.
2022 — 2023
Visiting Researcher, Creative Computing Institute
University of the Arts London · London
- Researched human-in-the-loop interfaces for generative music models.
- Presented Interactive Machine Learning for Generative Models at a NeurIPS 2023 workshop.
- Presented Genny, a generative-model live coding interface, at ICLC 2023.
2021 — 2022
Development Lead, AI Music Interface
Sony R&D · Tokyo
- Led a 0→1 program for an AI-assisted music creation plug-in, from requirements and architecture to release delivery.
- Led a five-to-ten-person development team and worked across frontend, backend, ML integration, and AWS.
- Technologies included TypeScript, Python, React, PyTorch, Django, and FastAPI.
2018 — 2026
Researcher & Engineer, Interactive Music
Sony R&D · Tokyo
- Developed experiences in which music responds to human behavior, mobility, and sensor data.
- Contributed to public experiments at Sony Park Mini and AFEELA data musification initiatives.
2017 — 2020
Researcher, Gesture & Wearable Interaction
Sony R&D · Tokyo
- Developed gesture recognition and non-contact interaction techniques for headphones and wearable audio products.
- Worked on gesture interaction for Xperia Ear Duo and mmWave-based touchless headphone interfaces.
Selected US patent families · 2021–2026
Intellectual property
Inventions across generative music interfaces, adaptive media, gesture recognition, haptics, wearable interaction, and shape-changing devices. Representative publications:
Adaptive music based on camera imagery and surrounding objects
2026
GUI for a generative adversarial network music synthesizer
2026
Dynamic media parameters based on user context
2024
US20240019935A1
→ US12578798B2
Haptic device for presenting the sensation of gripping a virtual object
2024 / 2026
US20220179613A1
→ US12026430B2
Gesture UI and dynamic feedback using an invisible interaction region
2022 / 2024
US20220059070A1
→ US12067966B2
Continuous synthesized-sound control from device-state changes
2022 / 2024
View all patent families
Adaptive music based on camera imagery and surrounding objects
GUI for a generative adversarial network music synthesizer
US20250147575A1 → US12669861B2
Content output determined from finger state and wrist rotation
Interactive surface with contact-dependent stiffness
Context-triggered content playback and generation for mobile and in-vehicle use
Shape-changing interface that expands or curves with use
Dynamic media parameters based on user context
US20240019935A1 → US12578798B2
Haptic device for presenting the sensation of gripping a virtual object
US20230012053A1 → US12394248B2
Identifying related body parts from body movement
US20220179613A1 → US12026430B2
Gesture UI and dynamic feedback using an invisible interaction region
US20220179616A1 → US11947869B2
Adaptive audio feedback based on gesture-recognition state
US20220059070A1 → US12067966B2
Continuous synthesized-sound control from device-state changes
AR / VR interface for resizing virtual objects
Real-time content playback synchronized with predicted body movement
Parallax and image-display control based on head movement
US20210303439A1 → US11940896B2
Learning voice and behavior as device activation triggers
Directional gesture selection using spatial audio feedback
Interface integrating audio requests from multiple apps with gesture input
Skills
- Applied AI
- Generative models, music AI, interactive ML, PyTorch, TensorFlow
- Product development
- TypeScript, Python, React, Next.js, Node.js, FastAPI, Django, AWS
- Creative technology
- JUCE, Max/MSP, Unity, real-time audio, live coding, sensing
- Design & leadership
- Figma, prototyping, product definition, team leadership
Education
Master of Media Design
Keio University Graduate School of Media Design · 2015–2017
B.S. in Electrical Engineering
Tokyo University of Science · 2011–2015
Selected research & speaking
2026 · ADC Japan
Designing Interactive Machine Learning Tools for Music Generation Models
2023 · NeurIPS Workshop
Interactive Machine Learning for Generative Models
2023 · ICLC
Genny: Designing and Implementing a Live Coding Interface for Generative Models
2021 · JAES
GANStrument: Adversarial Instrument Sound Synthesis with Pitch-invariant Instance Conditioning