A.K

• Self-introduction
  I'm A from the my route Development Group. I am from Latvia. In my previous job at a startup, I was working broadly as a full-stack developer.
• How is your team structured?
  Six members including myself.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  Even though it's part of a large group company, I found my team surprisingly easy to work with because of the friendly atmosphere. I really appreciated that there are study groups available for basically any technology I'm interested in.
• What is the atmosphere like in the workplace?
  Surprisingly, there are many foreign nationals, and they all have a high level of technical skill and are easy to talk to.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I'm not good at it.
• Question from M.O.: A, as a smart home user, what's the question you ask Alexa most often?
  Well, I definitely ask, "What's the weather today?" before heading out. I also use "What's this song?" or "Play [song name]" almost daily, since it's connected to Spotify. As a fun fact, Alexa can be used as a TTS speaker, so I enjoy playing custom messages. The most useful one for me, though simple, is a reminder that to plays the time plus a message every 5 minutes between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. "It's already 7:35! Are you getting up or what?! "Something like that.

S.D

• Self-introduction
  I am Deguchi from the Production Group. In my previous job, I worked on car navigation and map data related fields. I was also involved in natural language processing and machine learning.
• How is your team structured?
  It is a group of 5 people including myself. Each member is individually involved in different projects.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  Since the company's atmosphere was explained during the interview, there weren't any major surprises.
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  While most communication happens on Slack, there's also a lot of face-to-face interaction, creating an environment that's easy to communicate in.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I like having the opportunity to share information outside the company. It allows me to review past cases and Tech Blogs and gather a variety of insights from internal team members.
• Question from A.K Out of all the gadgets you've collected, which do you think is the most useful?
  It's hard to pick just one, so let me share a few of my favorites!
  • Raspberry Pi: An amazing product that allows you to easily challenge IoT and actually create things! It's impressive that Ubuntu (with GUI) runs properly for this price.
  • Insta360 Flow: It's great to get this level of gimbal performance at this cost! Subject tracking is also convenient!
  • Mitene GPS: I recommend this for small children to have. It's a useful gadget that it can be taken to places where cell phones aren't allowed. The battery life is also good.

K.N

• Self-introduction
  I am Nishi from the Data Engineering Team at Analysis Group.
• How is your team structured?
  The Analytics Group consists of three teams: the Data Science Team, the Data Engineering Team, and the Data Produce Team.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  There are many in-house study groups!
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  In daily morning meeting, we share our progress, issues, and consultations. Since we have three locations, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, and a mixed work system of home and office, we communicate through Slack Huddles, sharing screens as needed.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  After going through past articles for reference, I felt it was a great opportunity to get to know other employees.
• Question from S.D: Looking back to when you joined the company, is there anything you wish you had more information about, or a system you wish had been in place?
  I took many business model orientation courses after joining the company, but I think having a review session about three months later would be helpful for retaining the information better.

W

• Self-introduction
  I'm Watanabe and I belong to the Organizational Human Resources Team in Human Resources Group. I worked as a sales manager at a human resources firm and handled human resources at a startup.
• How is your team structured?
  The Human Resources Group includes the Organizational HR Team, the Recruiting Team, and the Labor Relations and General Affairs Team. The group had a total of 13 members.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  There were no particular surprises. I expected the internal control system to be well-organized since it's a Toyota Group company, and it was well-structured as I had anticipated. However, I feel we have enough freedom. I'd already heard about various internal challenges both positive and negative from the interview, so there were no surprises in that point either.
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  My impression is that everyone is positively engaged in their work. During my first month with the company, I had conversations with the managers. They were all supportive and welcoming, which helped me start comfortably.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I thought it was great how much effort goes into both internal and external communication. Given that it's a major affiliate, I expected stricter control over external communications. However, I feel there's a high level of freedom on this point, much like a venture company.
• Question from K.N: What kind of challenges would you like to take on at KINTO Technologies?
  I want to take on the challenge of creating an environment where everyone can move forward as one.

K

• Self-introduction
  I'm part of the IT/IS Division. In my previous job, I worked in MS infrastructure, .NET development, and information system operations at a SIer company.
• How is your team structured?
  The IT/IS Division consists of four teams: Asset Platform, Corporate Engineering, Tech-Service, and Enterprise Technology. As a member of the Corporate Engineering team, I am mainly involved in addressing business issues and requests through system implementation, renovation, and improvement.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  There were no surprises. Everyone in the IT/IS Division is thinking about, "How do my work tasks provide value?" My first impression was how impressive it was that things were so well-managed.
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  I usually work in the Muromachi office. The atmosphere makes it easy for us to consult with one another and think of each other's work as if it were our own. We regularly have 1-on-1 meetings with leaders, managers, and general managers to discuss honest opinions, impressions, requests, and concerns. As a result, it feels easy to communicate openly with others outside of these 1-on-1 meetings.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I thought it was simply a good measure, as we are actively communicating with the outside world beyond this blog.
• Question from W: Any interesting places (travel destinations, etc.) you have visited recently?
  I recently moved to a new house and visited a public bathhouse with a college friend who came to visit. The Showa-style appearance and atmosphere of the bathhouse were elegant, providing us with an extraordinary experience. I wasn't really into public bathhouses before, but I actually found it to be an enjoyable place to refresh and unwind.

JK

• Self-introduction
  I am Kim from the Toyota Woven City Payment Solution Development Group.
• How is your team structured?
  It is a group of 6 members including myself. We are actually working on the Woven side, and there are other Woven members in the team besides KINTO Technologies. Our work covers a wide range, from frontend and backend development to infrastructure.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  It was nice to hear various details during the orientation.
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  Basically, we set up a sprint plan once a week and work according to the target. We also make time for tech talks and document reading. Since we often work remotely, we use Slack, Meet, and other tools to stay connected with team members.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I wanted to give even a little useful information to those who read my article.
• Question from K: What do you value the most in your work?
  • I think it's the same everywhere, but communication with people is the most important. Especially in development side, if there's miscommunication about functional requirements, something entirely different might be created (lol).
  • The other is continuation. By persisting in my work, not only does my own work improve, but also the team can achieve a higher level of completion.

M

• Self-introduction
  I am M from Data Integration Platform Team.
• How is your team structured?
  There are two people, including myself, working on product maintenance. The product I am responsible for is connected to many systems, so I frequently need to communicate with various people.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  I was surprised by the proactive introduction of study groups, as well as new tools and services.
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  It's like a calm atmosphere where conversations occur when needed.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I didn't think anything in particular.
• Question from JK: What were the onboarding and catch-up processes like for your work after joining the company?Please share any positives you noticed during the process!
  First, I had a 1-on-1 session to go over the team structure, the purpose and role of the product I'd be working on. After that, I set up the machines and development environment using the provided documentation. So far, pretty standard onboarding up to that point. Afterward, we went through a hands-on process of signing a contract for a new KINTO car to better understand the business. The hands-on materials were carefully prepared, making it easy to understand the car rental process!

D

• Self-introduction
  I'm D from the my route Development Group.
• How is your team structured?
  It is a group of 6 people including myself.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  I felt that the company offers lots of opportunities for sharing information. The atmosphere was also more relaxed than I had imagined.
• What is the atmosphere at the site?
  We often work individually in a quiet and focused manner. All the team members are kind.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I was very nervous at the thought of someone outside the company reading my article.
• Question from M: Have you found a favorite lunch spot? If so, let us know!
  Yes, an Indian restaurant on the first floor of the building.

M.O

• Self-introduction
  I am Onuma from the Mobile Development Group. Previously, I worked as an Android engineer for the voice platform Voicy. I was also involved in backend development (Go), as well as frontend (Angular/TypeScript) and iOS app development.
• How is your team structured?
  The my route Android development team consists of four people, including myself.
• What was your first impression of KINTO Technologies when you joined? Were there any surprises?
  I had heard that there were many engineers from outside Japan, but there were even more than I expected. There are abundant in-house study groups, providing plenty of opportunities for learning and output.
• What is the atmosphere like in the workplace?
  Each person's area of responsibility is clearly defined within the company, which allows me to focus on my work and coding. I also believe this is an environment where we can immediately share any knowledge gained in the course of our work with one another.
• How did you feel about writing a blog post?
  I enjoy sharing knowledge about technology.
• Question from D: If any, what has been your biggest problem since joining the company?
  Adding home working schedules to Outlook to comply with remote work rules.