Senior Security Engineer

Tokyo
Remote OK - Anywhere in Japan
Full-time
August 26, 2024

About the position

We are a payment processor that handles very sensitive data for both our merchants and their customers. As we grow we need to make sure that our security is excellent and that our customer’s data is secure.
We are seeking a skilled and motivated security engineer to lead and start the Degica’s cybersecurity team. We are looking for a security specialist who can inform us how we can improve our product’s security and what processes we need in-house to do that.

You will be reporting directly to our CTO and will be responsible for the company’s security information and event management (SIEM) platform. Your job will be to help grow and shape our security efforts and practices. This will include improving our development process to be secure by design, to educate the team on best practices, and help to set up automated monitoring for abnormal or unexpected behavior. You will be playing a critical role in maintaining the security and integrity of Degica’s data.

We write primarily in Ruby and deploy to AWS, so understanding how to implement security in these environments will be vital. Knowing Ruby is not a requirement for this role as the company is happy to invest time and resources for you to come up to speed.
In the short-term, you will learn about our product by studying our organizations assets and setup proactive security monitoring around them to prevent attacks. Additionally, you will work with our Bug Bounty vendor YesWeHack (Bi-weekly) to grow and improve our external Bug bounty program.

Responsibilities

Create dashboards and alerts to monitor the security posture of the platform.
Monitor security events to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.
Maintain a security information event management platform (SIEM) to collect and analyze security events.
Work closely with the Engineering team to define processes and practices to improve application and infrastructure security.
Lead the investigation and analysis of security incidents to determine the root cause and impact.
Prepare incident response protocols for containment, elimination, and recovery activities.
Perform regular assessments of the effectiveness of security tools and recommend improvements or enhancements as needed.
Lead the penetration testing and bug bounty programs to ensure the system is secure from external attacks.

Requirements

Experience in implementing and managing SIEMs.
Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices, industry standards, and compliance requirements.
Familiarity with IDS and IPS tools and services.
Solid understanding of OWASP web vulnerabilities and remediations.
Strong understanding and experience in AWS cloud platform.
Knowledge on authentication and authorization technologies and services.
Experience in security configuration on Linux servers.
Knowledge of PCI DSS standards.

Nice to haves

These aren't required, but be sure to mention them in your application if you have them.

Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM or GCIH
Experience building and working on large-scale software products
Solid understanding of software development best practices
Understanding of concepts like technical debt and continuous integration
Experience in IaC and coding skills in Python or scripting languages
Knowledge of the Ruby programming language
Able to speak Japanese

Compensation

10,000,000 - 14,000,000 yen / year

Includes (rough estimate of) profit share. Based on experience and skill level

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About KOMOJU

KOMOJU (by Degica) is the leading cross-border payment gateway for Japan.

KOMOJU powers payments for leading companies, including the video game distribution platform Steam and the popular mobile app TikTok. Today, the company supports thousands of merchants by providing robust payment infrastructure—ranging from developer-friendly APIs to integrations with widely-used platforms like Shopify and Wix—enabling businesses to scale effectively in new markets.

In terms of engineering, KOMOJU fosters a developer-centric and inclusive culture. The team is committed to continuous improvement through regular self-evaluation and values individuality, recognizing the unique strengths that each engineer brings to the organization.

As KOMOJU grows, its development processes evolve accordingly. The engineering culture is largely self-organizing, with each engineer enjoying significant ownership over their projects. This environment empowers engineers to showcase their strengths while continuing to develop professionally.

Japanese Language Policy
With around half of KOMOJU’s total members (and around 90% of engineers) coming from outside Japan, teams generally use English for written communication(e.g. Slack, Github).

Verbal communication is also primarily in English.

However, quite a few people can speak both English and Japanese fluently, so Japanese may be spoken at times during meetings, especially when they involve teams other than engineering.

Overall, the language spoken depends on the team. The dev team uses mostly English, but the HR team (for example) speaks primarily Japanese.
Visa Sponsorship
KOMOJU sponsors visas for candidates living outside of Japan. KOMOJU also helps out with relocation (searching for apartments etc.) but they don’t have a formal policy for this. The support offered depends on each individual case. They do always pay for flight tickets to Japan in the case that someone moves from abroad.
Paid Leave
KOMOJU offers a generous vacation policy. In line with standard practices in Japan, employees begin with 10 days of paid time off (PTO) in their first year, with the number increasing in subsequent years based on Japanese labor law.

In addition to this, KOMOJU provides 5 extra vacation days during the summer and another 5 days for year-end holidays.

Employees also receive a day of birthday leave each year. Altogether, this adds up to 21 vacation days annually, not including Japanese public holidays. KOMOJU also offers maternity leave, paternity leave, and sick leave.
Benefits
💻 New tech gear

👩‍🎓 Skill development support

💛 Support for attending conferences

📕 Learning Budget

👶 Parental Leave

👩‍🏫 Language Learning Support

💜 Social security / insurance benefits included

🏥 Healthcare insurance

💚 Pension insurance

🚃 Commuter allowance

🛂 Visa and PR sponsorship

👍 Motorized sitting / standing desks when working from the office

🍱 Free office lunch twice a week
Engineer Interview Process
Engineering Roles

KOMOJU aims to keep their hiring process thoughtful and efficient. Typically, it involves 3–4 stages depending on the role:
- Initial Screening
- Take-home Exercise
- Technical Interview (Team Interview)
- Final Interview with Leadership
Throughout the process, the team evaluates technical skills and looks for alignment with team culture and potential for long-term growth.
Work style
KOMOJU operates as a remote-first company while placing a strong emphasis on personal connections and close collaboration. The company maintains an office in the Kichijoji area of Tokyo, which employees are welcome to visit for in-person collaboration and company events, such as weekly lunches provided at no cost.

Team members have the flexibility to work from anywhere within Japan, as well as up to three months per year from abroad. KOMOJU also offers flexible scheduling, allowing employees to set their own hours as long as they are available during the company’s core hours, Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 15:00 JST.