Hello everyone!  

I’m Natsuki, responsible for engineering recruitment.

Today, I interviewed John Joe Friedman (nicknamed JJ), who has been with us for four years and is an engineer from Amazon. JJ became a team leader in his third year and is a fantastic engineer who is highly trusted by everyone on the team!

JJ Profile  

- Country of Origin: Chicago, US 🗽  

- Moved to Japan: 6+ years  

- Residence: Tokyo 🗼  

Q. What kind of work have you been assigned since joining?  

JJ: In the beginning, I worked as a lead backend engineer on the Track Test platform. After about a year in that team, I transferred to help form the application infrastructure team. I participated in the establishment of a new team created to build many foundational platforms that Track relies on, supporting all products.

Q. What does your daily schedule look like?  

JJ: Since most staff work from home, everyone wakes up at their own time and starts working. I set daily goals, think about high-priority tasks, and note what I will work on in a dedicated system. We have team meetings, but they are often held later in the day, allowing me to focus on my tasks.

Q. How do you feel about Givery's culture?  

JJ: I think Givery is the best company I have worked for! Everyone is very kind, and there seems to be a foundation of understanding and empathy among the members. Even if a problem arises, the focus is on preventing mistakes rather than blaming the person who made them. When we can’t release on schedule or changes occur from the initial requirements, the business side shows great understanding and even offers to help. This culture of kindness and support is one of the reasons I want to continue working at Givery.

Q. What do you think is the most important aspect of Givery's culture?  

JJ: I would say "unlearning." It’s about focusing on how we can change to improve the system rather than just what is currently "working." Just because something is going well now doesn’t mean it will continue to do so. We need to constantly question whether what we are doing and the structure we have in place are truly correct. In other words, Givery has an openness and flexibility to revisit previous decisions.

Q. What soft skills and technical skills have you developed while working at Givery?  

JJ: I believe I have developed my leadership skills. In my previous company, I only focused on completing assigned tasks. However, since joining Givery, I have started to rethink my role as an engineer and consider what kind of work I should be doing. Engineers understand the entire system, so we can make important suggestions that the business side may not even realize. By focusing on what features to develop and how to prioritize them, I have gained a deeper understanding of the product side and the product vision since joining Givery.

Q. What do you think is important in your work?  

JJ: I believe the most important thing is proactive communication. This has been a significant challenge for me. It’s important to speak up not just when someone approaches you, but to take the initiative to express your thoughts when you notice something. For example, when I suggested, "This system is not sustainable, so shouldn’t we focus on fixing this instead of developing new features?" I received a very positive response from the company. Since then, I have continued to be asked for my opinions and encouraged to assert myself. Being able to proactively share my thoughts, even without being asked questions, has been a significant growth for me, and I hope to continue improving.

Q. What does "Give" mean to you in the context of Givery?  

JJ: I think the concept of "Give" is about providing something to others. This applies to customers, teammates, and even ourselves. Questions like, "How is the usability of this product?" "What do these changes mean for my teammates?" and "When I reflect on my work, can I take pride in it? Am I satisfied with the results?" are important. It’s about continuously thinking about what is best in the long term. That’s what "Give" means to me.

Q. What do you think contributes to the team dynamics at Givery?

JJ: One of the major factors is this very supportive and easy-to-work-in environment where opinions are easily heard. In a top-down organization, the potential and abilities of engineers can be stifled. Another factor is that we do not focus solely on hard skills in our hiring process. By placing great importance on personality and values, we have been able to gather the best teammates who share the same core values and are willing to do their best for each other.

Q. Since our clients are Japanese companies, we also have a Japanese team, right? How do the Japanese team and the international team communicate?

JJ: When members from different language backgrounds participate in meetings, bilingual members like myself join as interpreters. However, we also use various internal translation tools to ensure communication is clear in both English and Japanese. By respecting each other's languages and actively communicating, we have been able to build a comfortable and positive relationship for both sides.

Q. What is the atmosphere like in the engineering team?  

JJ: It’s a lot of fun! I never get bored working with members from diverse backgrounds around the world. In meetings, we actively take time to talk about our interests and our lives, which broadens my own perspective globally.

Q. What have you learned to become a better software developer in your career?

JJ: If you want to do your best work as an engineer, you should care about the product you are developing. Too many engineers seek high salaries at companies like Google or Amazon. I used to be one of them. If you don’t care about what you’re doing, the quality of your work and your commitment to your role will decline. Even if you are receiving good compensation, that alone won’t bring true happiness. On the contrary, when you work on a product you care about and do what you want to do, your performance naturally improves, and you can grow both as an individual and as an engineer.

JJ, thank you!

I hope this has provided valuable insights for the engineers!

For those who want to know more about topics not covered here, such as the "mindset of working as an engineer," please check out the video below! 👀

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MDUCidviXA