Senior Backend Engineer (Vertical Ads)

Tokyo
No Remote
Full-time
July 1, 2024

About SmartNews

SmartNews is a global leader in redefining information and news discovery, committed to providing users with accurate, timely information and supporting quality journalism. We combine the power of our unique machine-learning technology with the expertise of our first-rate editorial team to bring news that matters to millions of users from our over 3,000 global publishing partners.

Founded in 2012 in Tokyo, Japan, SmartNews has offices in Tokyo, San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York, and Singapore.

The Team

The SmartNews Ads Division has many teams, together we build systems that find the best interests among the 3 parties: our users, advertisers, publishers and SmartNews.

Vertical Ads Team is responsible for building and optimizing vertical product solutions such as branding ads, dynamic ads, and more. Branding ads are high-quality, visually compelling ads crafted to enhance brand visibility and recognition.

The Role

In this role, you will collaborate closely with engineers, product managers, and sales from different regions. Your role involves laying the foundational groundwork through our focus on architecture and other core engineering tasks to support better feature engineering. We highly value curiosity and a proactive mindset, as you will have the opportunity to contribute your ideas and take ownership. We encourage engineering-driven initiatives to accelerate product growth further.

You will also work with exciting teams from JP and the US, where you can shape the future of new products by building and iterating on solutions while prioritizing scalability, performance, reliability, security, and other essential engineering practices.

Your Reponsibilities

You'll make a strong partnership with product teams to build the next generation of SmartNews Brand Ads & Dynamic Ads Product
You’ll question the current solution, propose improvements then realize them with the team
You'll Work on end to end stack of ad-platform including serving, bidding and optimization

Requirements

Minimum requirements

Fluent in any of the following languages: Java, Kotlin, Golang, C++
Fluent in using Kafka, Redis, SQL and Cassandra
Deep understanding in batching and streaming data processing
Experienced in CICD
Experienced in microservice powered by container technology such as Docker and Kubernetes

Nice to have experiences/skills

Language ability: Golang, TypeScript, Python, SQL
Db experience: Cassandra, DynamoDb and MongoDb
Engineering experience: migrate on-prem system onto cloud
Industry experience: Digital Advertising Technology

Benefits

Benefits available at the SmartNews Tokyo Office

Lunch and snacks prepared daily in our on-site kitchen facility
In-office coffee stand offering single-origin coffees, espresso-based beverages, teas, and other seasonal drinks
SmartSelect, our support program for employee self-development, well-being, and productivity
All healthcare and social insurance required by the Japanese labor law

Visa Sponsorship and Relocation Support

Work visa sponsorship is available for candidates who meet eligibility requirements
To support a smooth transition for candidates who are moving to Japan from overseas, SmartNews partners with a travel service provider

APPLY NOW ➜

About スマートニュース

スマートニュース株式会社は「世界中の良質な情報を必要な人に送り届ける」ことをミッションとし、独自開発のウェブ解析技術を基盤に、アメリカと日本を中心に世界5000万ダウンロードを超える「SmartNews」を運用しています。また、創業者の1人がエンジニア出身であり、ITを重視するテクノロジー企業です。

スマートニュースの開発チームは非常にダイバシティ豊かです。東京とサンフランシスコ、パロアルト、上海、北京に開発オフィスがあり、世界トップレベルのエンジニアが集まっています「One Product, One Team」の哲学に基づき、日米で異なるタイムゾーンや言語、物理的環境でありながらも、活動のコードベースは1つ、そしてチームも1つでグローバルプロダクト開発体制をつくっています。英語もしくは日本語どちらかが流暢に話せれば応募可能なポジションもあり、優秀なグローバルメンバーと国際的な環境で働きたい日本人にとっても、すばらしい環境です。日本語、英語の学習サポートもあります。

Japanese Language Policy
We do not require Japanese language ability in the working environment. We have a language support program if employees want to learn Japanese.
Visa Sponsorship
We support candidates to get a working visa from the start to the end (for JP office joiners).
Paid Leave
Our holidays shall include Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and other days designated by the Company.

Annual paid holidays
- 4-10 days of paid holiday will be granted depending on the month in which you join the Company.
- From the second year and onwards, paid holidays will be granted according to the number of years of your employment on April 1st of each year. The number of days granted shall be set forth in the Work Rules.
Other leaves
- Summer holidays
- Year-end and year-beginning holidays
- Special leave for congratulation or condolence (marriage or immediate family death)
- Sick/Injured Child Care Leave
- Family nursing care leave
- Maternity and paternity leave
Benefits
☕️ ChikyuCoffee - Delicious coffee provided by our Barista every day

🍹 Free soft drinks

🌽 SmartKitchen - Healthy organic lunch on a daily basis for free at our cafeteria

👩‍🎓 Foreign language development support

💜 Various social insurance benefits included

🏥 Health insurance

📓 Free book rent from our library collections

🌎 Translation/interpretation support (EN<>JP)
Remote Work
We accept work from home policy during natural disasters and emergency situations. Our company’s working policy during the pandemic follows the government’s recommendations.
Work style
Our engineering and product teams follow the discretionary labor system to better collaborate with members in the US and China.
Diversity
We support diversity in various ways and those are not simply reflected in the quantitative goals.

We have employees with 18 different nationalities. Groups of small gatherings with similar interests are actively communicating across divisions, departments, and regions. We have monthly Global All Hands to share important notes from each region and be aligned globally.

All employees in SmartNews have different personal and professional backgrounds and experiences.
Parents and Family
We are supporting our employees in various ways to help them manage their work better with family care.

We have 10 annual paid leaves (for a child) for employees with children until they enter highschool.

Working from home is encouraged when their family needs care. Employees can freely invite their family to the Smart Kitchen (our corporate kitchen where free lunches are served).

During the working from home period because of the pandemic, employees with small children autonomously held some online sessions for their children such as reading fairy tales and mutual online babysittings.